Son of Kildalkey recounts life of Joe Dolan

The central role an Athboy musician played in the success of the late Joe Dolan is recalled in a new biography on the legendary singer. 'Joe Dolan - The Official Biography" details that Des 'Doc" Doherty was one of the first men to join Joe"s first band, The Drifters, back in 1961, when Joe, his brother Ben and manager Seamus Casey orchestrated a 'raid" on a rival band to bring Des in. Des, an accomplished traditional musician from a very young age, had no problem adapting to the rock and pop sounds of The Drifters and he made an immediate impact on the band, with his unique keyboard playing skills becoming the signature sound of the Drifters band as they went from small parish halls to becoming the number band in the land. The book details how Des was the first keyboard player in Ireland to bring a new German-made Hohner Pianet keyboard onto the stages of Ireland. It revolutionised bands at the time who, up until then, were relying on pianos and poorly-made organs. With Des arranging most of their songs, The Drifters went on to become the biggest and most successful of all the showbands. They enjoyed ten successive Top Ten hits, predominantly with original material (which was not the norm for most showbands at the time) and their debut album 'The Answer to Everything" was a number one smash. However, at the peak of their career in 1968 the band split, with Des and several other Drifters leaving to form an equally successful band, The Times. There was nothing acrimonious about the split and all the band members remained good friends with Joe, particularly Des. The Times, in turn, also split but in the best tradition of show business, the show went on for Des, and he has played with a number of big bands since as well as carving out a successful solo career. He is currently playing with former Drifters bandmate Jimmy Horan and leading country and western songwriter Vinnie Baker (amongst others) in The Tennessee Breakdown Band, an eight piece act who have garnered much critical acclaim in recent months. Des"s connection is not the only Meath connection to Joe in the book. The marriage of Joe"s manager, Seamus Casey, to Kildalkey woman Doreen McCormack is also featured in one of the earlier chapters. Joe was the best man on the day of the wedding, and it was on this day in September 1966 that the singer scored his first number one single, with the song 'Pretty Brown Eyes". The celebrations that ensued nearly caused a riot at Dublin airport where Seamus and Doreen were about to jet out of on their honeymoon. Doreen met Seamus at - where else - but a Joe Dolan concert, and it was love at first sight! 'Joe Dolan - The Official Biography" was written by journalist Ronan Casey, a son of Seamus and Doreen. Joe had started working on the book with Ronan in the year before his passing, but sadly Joe was taken ill before he could finish it, but his family and friends have co-operated with Ronan in completing it. Meanwhile, a specially commissioned bronze sculpture, which captures Joe Dolan in a trademark stage pose was unveiled in Mullingar by Westmeath County Council and Mullingar Town Council on Sunday, constructed in bronze by artist Carl Payne in association with Genesis Fine Arts, Mullingar. The bronze statue was unveiled by the Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, together with members of Joe"s family, including his brothers Ben, Paddy and Vincent and sisters Imelda and Dympna.