Joe Dolan is one of the most iconic figures in Irish music, but why has his legacy endured? “If people hear the songs now, it’s easy for them to say: that’s a Joe Dolan song,” says Ben Dolan, Joe’s brother and bandmate.

“Most people who talk to me about him, will say ‘Mullingar oh me, oh my’. And like that, if you talk to people in general, you could meet people who will name five or six Joe Dolan songs off.”

And now Joe’s biggest hits have been given a new lease, following the release of an album by Universal Music, with the songs re-recorded with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

The album, Orchestrated, Volume 1, also features a duet with Nathan Carter and interviews with Joe’s family, his long-term manager Seamus Casey and Albert Hammond, who co-wrote Make Me An Island and You’re Such A Good Looking Woman.

Ben is delighted with the result, with the music of the orchestra adding a new, dramatic element to Joe’s distinctive voice.

“I thought it was a fantastic idea. I was really chuffed with the idea, seeing that Joe is gone for nine years now,” says Ben. “It really came out fantastic. I’m very proud of it.”

Ben spent 47 years on the road with his brother, playing the saxophone in the band they established. Music was always a fixture in their home growing up, with their mother playing piano and sisters involved in local singing groups.

“We played with a few local bands, and one day we had a chat and decided to start a band ourselves. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but once we got started it was a struggle for a year or two, before we got our names out there,” he explains. “In the early days, you never think you’ll go up the line. We never thought that what happened would happen.”

Ben and other band members were also singers, but it did not take long for Joe to emerge as the star. “When we started, we all used to sing and be part of the show. But when Joe started doing all the concerts…he was the lead man. Then it was Joe Dolan and his band. He was the frontman,” says Ben.

They toured all over the world, from the US to Israel to the USSR, where they became the first Western band to get behind the Iron Curtain. Joe was offered a residency in Las Vegas, which he declined.

“Joe wasn’t that fond of Vegas. He really wasn’t that fond of being in the same place, night after night. It nearly became like going to work. We were used to one-night gigs, playing in different venues and meeting different people,” he says.

“On the first trip we went on, he was starting to mark the calendar. He loved showbusiness, but really money wasn’t his big attraction. In Vegas, money was a big attraction.”

Working so closely together for such a long period, there were a few disagreements between the brothers.

“He was the youngest in our family and I was five years older than him. We never agreed on anything, even though we were together in the band for all those years. We never fell out, though.

“If I had an idea, he would down it. Then if he had an idea, I wouldn’t go with it. But gradually the two ideas would come together,” says Ben.

According to Ben, the band’s long life span was down to the Irish audience – and their relentless work ethic. “Joe was in it for years, and the Irish audience looked after us very well for all those years,” he says.

“He really was a good showman. He did a very good job and put an awful lot of work into it. It wouldn’t matter who you were, he never did a bad show or a tired show. It was always up tempo.

“And regardless of what happened in the family – even if your mother died – you still played, because the dates were booked. The people going to the dance probably never heard of your mother.

“In normal jobs, you could take the time off if someone was sick. Now in the band business, that still doesn’t apply. We had musicians in the band, some of them for 30 years, and they never missed a show in that length of time – and nobody ever got sick.”

Ben now runs a pub in Mullingar, which is named after his brother. The town also boasts a statue and bridge named in his honour.

“I’m really proud of that. The Westmeath County Council all have to agree on it and vote, and I do think it’s a fantastic pleasure to know they did all of that for him. If he came back, he’d be as proud as punch,” Ben says.

It has been nine years since Joe passed away, but seeing his memory kept alive gives Ben great comfort.

“There were great times. We had a very good life. It was the end of an era, but time is a great healer,” Ben concludes. CL

Orchestrated, Volume 1 is out now through Universal Music Ireland.