Irish folk singer Johnny McEvoy dies aged 81, known for Muirsheen Durkin hit

Death and family reaction

Johnny McEvoy died on Sunday, 8 November 2026, at his home in Greystones, Co Wicklow, aged 81, his manager Darren Farrell confirmed. The Irish Independent instead placed the death at his home in Skerries, while The Irish Times and RTÉ gave Greystones. His children, Jonathan and Alice, announced the death in a statement that thanked fans for the many kind messages the family had received and asked for privacy. The funeral will be private, attended by his family, close friends and some of the people he worked alongside over the years. He was predeceased by his wife Odette, who died in 2013, three years after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and he is survived by his children and his grandchildren Kyle, Isabella and Cinéad.

Early life and first steps in music

McEvoy was born on 24 April 1945 in Banagher, Co Offaly, the son of bus driver John McEvoy and housewife Emily McEvoy, according to The Irish Times. The family moved to Dublin when he was six, and he began singing at the age of four. His father was less supportive of his musical ambitions, while his mother was keener on them. In the early 1960s he performed as part of the duo The Ramblers Two with Michael Crotty, releasing several singles, touring and appearing on television. The duo supported the Rolling Stones at Dublin's Adelphi cinema, and during that concert McEvoy joined Mick Jagger on stage to play "The Merry Ploughboy".

Hit records and later career

After the duo split, McEvoy went solo and landed his first hit in 1966 with a cover of the ballad Muirsheen Durkin, which topped the Irish chart. Its follow-up, The Boston Burglar, also reached the top of the Irish chart in 1967. The Irish Independent credits Nora, taken from Seán O'Casey's play The Plough and the Stars, with a number one in 1968, the same year it dates his Carnegie Hall performance, which came during his first US tour. He wrote Long Before Your Time, which also went to the top of the charts in 1976. He published the memoir My Songs, My Stories, My Life In Music in 2017 and later re-recorded Muirsheen Durkin with Sharon Shannon, a recording that sources date to either 2010 or 2020.

Tributes from Ireland

Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute on social media, calling McEvoy a true icon of Irish folk music and offering sympathies to his family, friends and fans.

“Johnny brought great joy to audiences who had great affection for him.”

Senator and singer Frances Black said she was deeply saddened by the news and described McEvoy as one of the finest interpreters of Irish song the country has produced.

“He had a gift for finding the heart of a song and handing it to the listener with honesty and warmth.”

Mick Foster of Foster and Allen told RTÉ Radio 1's The Oliver Callan Show that McEvoy had started a public conversation about mental health when he spoke openly about his depression in the 1990s on the Late Late Show with Gay Byrne. Foster said that openness had helped many people who did not know what was wrong with them.