The Harvest Ministers (1987 Session)

From Dublin The Harvest Ministers were formed in 1987 by William Merriman (guitar) and David Duffy (vocals, harmonica). They later recruited Padraig McCaul (guitar, piano, saxaphone) and Maeve Roche (vocals). Aingeala de Burca (violin) ex In Tua Nua, Brian Foley (bass) ex Vipers, Blades, Mountain Climbers and Pat Dillon (drums) were soon added to the lineup. Maeve left and Gerardette Bailey joined. Gerardette left and Maeve came back. William took over on vocal duties and albums ensued. The band is still very much active and are currently working on a new album. Check out this 2014 interview by Niall Crumlish on state.ie. Update: The band lineup for the Fanning session was Brian Foley (bass), David Duffy (vocals), Padraig McCaul (sax), Pat Dillon (drums), Will Merriman (guitar), Maeve Roche (vocals) and Andy Fitzpatrick (piano).

Carriage of Villains / Railroaded / Crazy Mary Lou (1987)

The Harvest Ministers – Bewley’s Saturday 17th May 2014

The Harvest Ministers are to make an all too rare live appearance launching ‘You Can See Everything From Here’, in Bewley’s Cafe Theatre on Saturday 17th May 2014. The album is an anthology covering the period 1993 – 2010. Musicians on the night will be Brian Foley (double bass), Tom Dunne (drums), Padraig McCaul (piano / saxophone), Aingeala de Burca (violin) and last but not least Will Merriman (vocals / guitar).

Further Reading:
Great Irish Bands, Part 22 : The Harvest Ministers
This Weekend I’ll Mostly Be Listening to… The Harvest Ministers

Hot Press Unsigned Irish Music Act 1991 Public Vote

It’s too late to submit your vote but you might be interested to see who was on the shortlist for the Smithwicks / Hot Press Public Vote Award as published in the 12th December 1991 edition of Hot Press magazine. Votes were not restricted to the listed bands.

The Harvest Ministers

From Dublin The Harvest Ministers were formed in 1987 by William Merriman (guitar/vocals), Padraig McCaul (guitar/piano/sax) and Gerardette Bailey (vocals). Aingeala de Burca (violin) ex In Tua Nua, Brian Foley (bass) ex Vipers, Blades, Mountain Climbers and Pat Dillon (drums) were soon added to the lineup. The MySpace page lists the current lineup as William Merriman, Padraig McCaul, Mark Byrne and Kieran Lally with honorary members Andy Fitzpatrick and Aingeala de Burca.

The Harvest Ministers were Carling/Hot Press finalists in 1988 and in 1989 ‘Petticoats’ featured on the Nationwide 3 compilation. Their self-released debut single ‘You Do My World the World of Good’ in 1991 brought them to the attention of Sarah Records who licensed their first few singles and released their debut LP in 1993. They signed to Setanta Records in 1995.

Teresa (1988?)