John Doyle: “Wild Roving”

Peghead Nation Irish Guitar instructor plays a quiet and nuanced version of the popular traditional sing-along.

By: Dan Gabel

March 17, 2026

John Doyle is one of the leading voices in Irish music as a guitarist, songwriter, song interpreter, and singer, and we’re thrilled to have him as part of the Peghead Nation instructor roster. When he was in the studio recording the first lessons for his Irish Guitar course, he played this version of “Wild Roving,” a moving interpretation of the rousing traditional Irish song “The Wild Rover,” performed and recorded most famously by The Dubliners, with plenty of company from The Clancy Brothers, The Pouges, and groups of lasses and lads in Irish pubs the world over.

John’s beautiful take on “Wild Roving” (which he recorded on the excellent Usher’s Island album with Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Paddy Glackin, and Michael McGoldrick) pulls at the darker side of chronic imbibing and the effect on other parts of life. It is a thoughtful example of how folk songs evolve and how interpretation matters. John is a master at getting to the heart of a song, and it’s a pleasure to fall into the story with him. Watch for more from John, with new lessons in his course every month!

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Take a look at Irish Guitar with John Doyle, now available for a monthly or annual subscription! Use promo code JohnLand to get your first month free.

Learn to play traditional and contemporary Irish music on the guitar in the style of the masterful John Doyle. With lessons on essential technique, playing backup on traditional tune forms, melodic picking, and more, you’ll learn John’s driving rhythmic style and his authentic approach to traditional melodies and his own tunes and songs. Take a look at John’s course introduction video on this page, and join us in this special course!

Subscribe to Irish Guitar with John Doyle

This course includes a step-by-step approach to mastering Irish guitar, with extensive video lessons updated every month. You’ll learn John’s essential picking and strumming technique, and accompaniment approach to traditional Irish tune forms, including reels, jigs, hornpipes, and more. John starts with dropped-D tuning, and will move into DADGAD, CFCGCD (his favorite!), and other tunings in future lessons. John shows you how to create the authentic Irish music feel and drive, and explores chord forms and shapes in common keys used in the music. He gives examples of playing backup on multiple tunes, also playing the melody, so you learn in context. With lessons added every month, you’ll build your Irish guitar skills with a master player as your guide, exploring traditional Irish music as well as John’s original tunes and songs. John will explore his fingerstyle playing, pick-with-fingers technique, and many more secrets he’s uncovered in his lifetime of playing Irish music. Lessons include tab/notation and/or chord charts, high-quality video with multiple camera angles, so you can see closeups of both hands in action, and Play-Along Tracks so you can practice what you’ve learned.

Sign up for Irish Guitar with John Doyle

John Doyle is among the most in-demand guitarists in the world of traditional Irish music. His indomitable drive, intriguing harmonic sense, and deep familiarity with the melodies make him a formidable accompanist and first-rate soloist. Well known in the Irish scene for his recording and performance work with Liz Carroll, Eileen Ivers, Solas, and many others, John has performed in other musical settings, including stints with Joan Baez, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Tim O’Brien, among others. In recent years, John has devoted himself primarily to songwriting, with an emphasis on works that reflect the experiences of Irish emigrants in various settings. In the studio or onstage, though, John’s guitar playing is second to none.

Learn more at www.johndoylemusic.com

Irish Guitar with John Doyle is a great way to supercharge your Irish Guitar playing. Join us today, and use promo code JohnLand to get your first month free.