RIP Dolores Keane - concertina player

[Stephen Chambers]

I'm very, very sad to hear of Dolores Keane's death. I knew her going right back to when she first came to London and used to play the concert flute in sessions on the Holloway Road in the late '70s/early '80s, and she even bought a rosewood-ended Lachenal concertina off me then.

 

She's accompanying John Faulkner on it in this video:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWhyzAAk6yM

[John Wild]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002snht

 

There was a very brief mention on Last Word - the R4 obituary program.

It seems to have been a busy week for obituaries, so this one got a very brief mention plus a very short sample of her singing.

[Peter Laban]

A concertina was placed on her coffin  during the funeral mass to signify her love of  music. 

 

It's a sad loss,  Dolores was such a beautiful singer. Her early recordings were part of the rotation in my house during the late 70s to mid 80s.  I saw her with De Dannan, Reel Union and John Faulkner during those years and perhaps didn't realise completely how dear I held those songs until an encounter with John Faulkner in recent years and him singing The Bonny Light Horseman on the occasion led me to revisit the  lps.

 

Edited March 21 by Peter Laban

[Stephen Chambers]

10 hours ago, Peter Laban said:

A concertina was placed on her coffin  during the funeral mass to signify her love of  music. 

 

Ah yes, in its case, but I remember her putting an Alan Ginsberg (the uilleann pipes maker, not the poet) sticker the same as that on the case of the one I sold her, and I'm forever putting catches like that one onto Lachenal concertina cases, so that they can be used even when (as per usual) the key is missing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Peter Laban]

In memoriam from Joernal of music/RTE

[wes williams]

Looks like this might be related, but it's too late for me to listen to it tonight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDCn1hFANDg

[Stephen Chambers]

On 3/31/2026 at 12:38 AM, wes williams said:

Looks like this might be related, but it's too late for me to listen to it tonight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDCn1hFANDg

 

Thank you so much Wes!

 

The sound is pretty dreadful, but never mind that - it's a great photo to remember her by!

[wes williams]

No concertina on that video, but Paul Groff did post a link on another concertina related site where Dolores plays:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L508b6J4wrQ

[Ty Bowen]

Is she related to Caroline Keane the concertina virtuoso?

[Stephen Chambers]

18 hours ago, Ty Bowen said:

Is she related to Caroline Keane the concertina virtuoso?

 

No.