Rock music in Ireland

Van Morrison, Henry McCullough and Rory Gallagher started working in Irish showbands, but went on to put Ireland on the rock music map.

Rory Gallagher formed the blues rock trio Taste and went on to achieve critical acclaim in his solo career which lasted until his death in 1995.

Eire Apparent, a rock band from Belfast who formed in 1967 is noted for launching the careers of Henry McCullough and Ernie Graham, and for having Jimi Hendrix play on, and produce, their only album.

Irish success in this period on a more commercial basis was led by Waterford born pop singer/songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan, whose achievements included two UK No.

1 ("Alone Again (Naturally)") In the mid-70s, with a roots revival of traditional music burgeoning, folk rock fusion groups such as Planxty and Moving Hearts as well as singer-songwriters like Christy Moore and Paul Brady rose to prominence.

Irish bands such as Northern Ireland's Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones as well as Dublin's The Radiators from Space, The Boomtown Rats, Berlin, The Blades, The Vipers and the avant-garde The Virgin Prunes were in the midst of the new genre.

"[5] Band members Bono (Paul Hewson), The Edge (David Evans), Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr have brought international attention to this unique genre.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Dublin based group My Bloody Valentine pioneered a new style of rock, Shoegazing, and received much critical acclaim.

This decade has also produced a number of acclaimed solo singer/songwriters such as Paddy Casey, Duke Special, Damien Dempsey, Bressie, Declan O'Rourke, Chris Singleton, Cathy Davey, Gemma Hayes, David Kitt, Mundy, Jinx Lennon and Simple Kid.

Other bands from Ireland that formed in the 2000s include Nine Lies, The Coronas, The Blizzards, Royseven, Two Door Cinema Club, Hamsandwich, The Answer, Codes, The Chakras, Fred, Hybrasil, Heathers and Adebisi Shank.

In the late 2000s and 2010s many unsigned bands emerged from both north and south of the border, such as, Hozier, Fontaines D.C., Axis Of, Time Is a Thief, Jody Has A Hitlist, Girl Band, LaFaro, Fighting with Wire, RUN iN RED, Podracer, Dead Label!, Chewing on Tinfoil, Kasper Rosa, Black Svan, Words That Burn & Two Glass Eyes, and the best of the bunch, Strangers With Guns.