As a young man, McCann attended University College Dublin as a student of medicine, but became interested in folk music during a summer holiday in Birmingham in 1964.

He began to perform in folk clubs in the area, and, upon his return to Dublin, he joined a group called the Ludlow Trio in 1965.

[1] Amongst other pursuits, he spent the next few years involving himself in theatrical productions (starting with Maureen Potter's "Gaels of Laughter" in 1968), and he toured throughout Ireland and Britain.

In April 1974 Kelly asked McCann to join The Dubliners temporarily, to replace Ciarán Bourke during a period of illness.

He continued to perform, tour, and record music as a solo artist, appearing on many television shows (particularly on RTÉ) and achieving success with albums such as From Clare to Here and singles such as "Grace" which was in the Irish charts for 33 weeks from 1 April 1986 and reached number 2 position.