Barney McKenna - Telegraph The group's forte was traditional Irish music, but occasionally McKenna and Sheahan would veer off into jazz and play a standard like Sweet Georgia Brown. McKenna sometimes talked wistfully of making a jazz album, but never did. The Dubliners achieved their international breakthrough in 1967 with the risqué hit single Seven Drunken Nights. The success came primarily on the back of heavy airplay from the pirate station Radio Caroline, and they maintained their popularity with big chorus songs such as Black Velvet Band and The Wild Rover. McKenna remained entirely unaffected by celebrity. The first time the group played the Royal Albert Hall, he walked on stage, looked out at the audience and said: "Oh my jayzus, have you seen the size of this place?" From time to time he would take centre stage to sing the odd comic song and crowd favourites like Fiddler's Green and A Man You Don't Meet Every Day. Following the deaths of the group's founder members Kelly (in 1984), Ciaran Bourke (1988) and Drew (who had already left when he died in 2008), McKenna remained . Happiest when playing his banjo, sharing tunes and talking about music, McKenna was famously generous with his time, always keen to give aspiring musicians the benefit of his experience. Oddly for such a virtuoso musician, he never recorded a solo album - although he was often asked to play with other musicians and appeared on records alongside The Chieftains, Christy Moore, Boys Of The Lough and The Pogues. Failing health may have blunted his ability in later years, but it never affected his enthusiasm. Despite diabetes, blindness in one eye and difficulty in walking following a stroke, he continued to play a full role in The Dubliners" continuing success . In February this year, at the BBC Folk Awards held at Salford's Lowry Theatre, The Dubliners were presented with a lifetime achievement award, which the rest of the band gave to McKenna. The audience accorded them a rousing reception that night as they blasted out some of their most popular numbers , but the biggest applause erupted when McKenna burst into a blistering banjo solo. They then embarked on a major UK tour and recorded the Irish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest . Barney McKenna, who is survived by his partner, Tina, died suddenly at his Dublin home while drinking a cup of tea. Barney McKenna, born December 16 1939, died April 5 2012