Irish Descendants

Irish Descendants are a Canadian folk band formed in 1990 in Newfoundland, growing out of the remnants of two earlier folk groups. All of the founding members came from Newfoundland and had worked in the province's fishing industry before turning to music full time, a background that shaped the maritime and working-class themes running through much of their repertoire.

The band built its reputation on lively arrangements of traditional Irish and Newfoundland folk songs, mixing rebel ballads, sea shanties, and drinking songs with a rock-influenced energy that made them popular on the East Coast Canadian folk circuit. Songs such as «Rattlin' Bog», «Barrett's Privateers», and «Rocky Road to Dublin» became staples of their live shows, alongside politically charged material like «Come Out Ye' Black And Tans».

Over the years Irish Descendants earned a devoted following in Canada and abroad, and their profile grew enough that they performed for the Queen of England, a notable milestone for a band rooted in small-town Newfoundland fishing communities. They remain closely associated with the revival and popularization of Newfoundland's Irish-inflected folk tradition.