Mr McGuinness, who plays banjo and sings, was born in James’s Street in the heart of Dublin and spent most of his life in Inchicore.
An all-round sportsman, he has many medals and trophies for GAA, soccer and athletics from his early days. He is also a great supporter of the Irish soccer team, having played music for them on numerous occasions.
Mr McGuinness started his music career in 1963 by forming a band called The Jolly Tinkers. They later changed the name to The Quare Fellas after being influenced by the late, great Brendan Behan.
He then went on to form the Dublin City Ramblers, the ballad and folk group which has been going strong for five decades.
“I got a banjo when I was 14 in 1962. I didn’t know what banjo was, but just picked it up and started playing, we’re all self-taught. The Dubliners would’ve been a huge inspiration,” he told the Irish Independent.
“I worked originally in a place around Kilmainham repairing phones, telephones and switchboards. I was there from 1963 to 1970. We took a chance and left our jobs, and we never regretted it for one day.
“What kept me going was the actual love of music. I absolutely love it. My mother and my father were very musical. My whole family was musical, it was in the blood, we absolutely adored the music. My brother Matthew passed away there only four weeks ago. He was a great inspiration to me.
“But I nearly gave it up nine years ago when my wife passed away. I live on my own, but she keeps me going, she is my influence, and I absolutely adore her.”
The Dublin City Ramblers were formed in 1970
The band is known all over the world, and don’t plan to stop touring the globe anytime soon.
“We formed the band in 1970, and we went full time almost immediately. We tour America regularly and in 1977 we got our first gold album for Dublin in the Rare Old Times.
“Today, we have 45 albums. We had different members and there’s been a few changes over the years. I’m the only original remaining. We’re still going strong and we’re having a great time.
“We celebrated our 50th anniversary in 2020, but then Covid came and put a stop to it for a while, but now we’re back on the road.
“We’ve keys to three cities. We’ve toured America every year for the last 50 years. We were given the keys to Fort Lauderdale in Florida, Hollywood in Florida and a place called Moorhead in Kentucky.
“We’re in the Hall of Fame in Florida, the only Irish act in it. It’s a beautiful big theatre. We only played there recently again.
“The Wolfe Tones are great friends of ours, they started in ‘63 as well, and we all grew up together. We’ve done lots of festivals, especially in America. We had fantastic times.
“When we’re on stage, it’s like an Irish history lesson. There’s comedy, there’s republican, all sorts of songs.”
The lads continue gigging and will soon be coming back to Dublin for a night of songs and storytelling for a good cause in Vicar Street.
“At the moment it is me and a chap called Tommy Mangan on keyboards. Then we’ve Eoin Thomas, who’s a great singer-songwriter and guitar player.
“We’re doing a big show in Vicar Street on November 10 with the Sea of Change Choir, 50 ladies who are all cancer supporters or cancer survivors.
“We released the Railroad Trains in 1977, we just released it again and we’re having the launch in Vicar Street. We’re the only band ever to receive two gold albums for the same song 50 years apart.
“We’ve released a double album to celebrate, 50 songs for 50 years. It’ll be a good night,” he added.
