The Ballad Ronnie Drew, artists including U2, Sinéad O’Connor, and Shane MacGowan.

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A who’s who of the Irish music scene pays tribute to folk musician Ronnie Drew.
In January 2008 some of the biggest artists in Irish music gathered at Windmill Lane Recording Studios to record a tribute to Ronnie Drew of Irish folk band The Dubliners.
The song ‘The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew’ is written by U2’s Bono and The Edge, Robert Hunter of the Grateful Dead, and Simon Carmody of The Golden Horde.
Originally the track was to be performed by Ronnie Drew himself, but instead, it turned into a tribute to the man Bono calls,
The King of Ireland.
‘The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew’ by U2, The Dubliners, Kíla, and A Band of Bowsies, features a cast of artists including Sinéad O’Connor, Shane MacGowan, Andrea Corr, and Damien Dempsey.
Many of those involved in the recording, give a special performance of ‘The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew’ on ‘The Late Late Show’. Watching from the audience is Ronnie Drew himself, who is overwhelmed by the rendition. He first knew of the project when Bono and The Edge brought the finished recording round to his house.
With Ronnie Drew’s blessing, the song is being released as a CD single in Ireland, with all proceeds going to the Irish Cancer Society. Since his throat cancer diagnosis in late 2007, Ronnie Drew has undergone chemotherapy, losing his hair and trademark beard in the process. But since the song was written,
My voice is getting stronger and my hair is coming back.
Ronnie Drew died in August 2008.
This episode of ‘The Late Late Show’ was broadcast on 22 February 2008. The presenter is Pat Kenny.