Shannon Rovers Irish Pipe Band

The Shannon Rovers are a pipe band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band plays traditional Irish music almost exclusively. The origins of many of the tunes are lost in antiquity. Centuries ago words were added to many of the melodies and these words provided the names of the tunes as we know them today. The band's signature set, 'Garryowen', 'O'Donnell Abu', and the 'Wearing of the Green' are ancient Irish melodies with words that were composed in the 1700 and 1800s, some of which chronicle events in the 17th century. More recently Garryowen was made famous in this country by Thomas Francis Meagher's Irish Brigade in the Civil War and later by George Custer's Seventh Cavalry.