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Ronnie Drew was born Joseph Ronald Augustine Drew in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin on the 16th of September 1934. He was raised by his' grandparents', and when he was 10 years old, he moved into the newly-built houses at No. 37 Oliver Plunkett Road in Dublin. Later as a child, Ronnie was brought up by his' 3 aunts' Eileen, May and Lal; which he personally said he did not reccommend. As a child he attended the Christian Brothers School in Dublin, and he was brought up as a Roman Catholic, although he did not agre with all of the church (specifically its' greed'). As a boy he sung Soprano until his' voice broke'. In the 1950s he moved to Spain to learn the Flamenco guitar and teach English to Spanish students, wherein he learnt English. He was initially interested in Spanish music, but this expanded to Irish folk music when he was 19 years old. Later he returned to Ireland, and grew a beard and worked at The Dublin Telephone Exchange. In the early 1960s, Drew befriended local Tenor Banjo player Bernard Noel "Barney" McKenna and they both played at The Gate Theatre in Dublin for John Molloy in between the various sets. In 1962, he founded The Ronnie Drew group in O' Donoghues Pub in Dublin, which was later renamed The Dubliners by Luke Kelly. In 1974, he left the band to spend more time with his' family', and also to pursue a solo-career. Drew rejoined the Dubliners in 1979, but left again in 1995. He married Dierdre Drew nee McCartan in the 1960s (daughter of Patrick McCartan), and had some children. One of them was the actor, Phelim Drew. On the 22nd of August 2006, Drews' handprints' were added outside The Gaiety Theatre in Dublin. In September 2006, Drew went to St. Vincents' Hospital' in Dublin to undergo tests for suspected cancer. The Evening Herald reported that it was due to Drews' years' of heavy-drinking' and smoking', but Drew had developed throat-cancer. Drews' wife', Derdrie, also died at this point. By 2007, some of the cancer had spread to his' lungs', and his' voice' grew even more gravely'. Drew underwent lots of rounds of Chemotherapy, which caused him to lose his' hair' and trademark beard'. When the various music artists of Ireland heard of Drews' condition', they all decided to record a song to tribute him; the funds going to the Irish Cancer Society. It was called "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" and was sung by Bono, Sinead O' Connor, Shane Macgowan, Eamonn Campbell, Barney McKenna among others. On the 16th August 2008, Ronnie died of throat cancer at St. Vincents' Hospital', Dublin. He was 73 years old.
Drew was famed within The Dubliners for singing such songs as:-McAlpines Fusiliers, I'll Tell Me Ma, Seven Drunken Nights among others. His' voice' was famed for being deep and gravely, and it just got better and better with age. It was akin to "coke being crushed under a door". His' trademark beard' made him instantly recognisable, and so did his' voice'.