The Dublin Welsh Male Voice Choir owes its origins to the St. David’s Society, formed in the late 19th Century to assist indigent Welsh seamen who were stranded in Dublin.  The St. David’s Society, soon to become known as the “Dublin Welsh Society”, met monthly to provide a way for Welsh residents and students living in Dublin to maintain contact.

On 20 October 1966 a group of the regular attendees formed a male voice choir.  The new choir first practiced in Trinity College, later for a time in the now demolished Toby Jug in South King Street until it found a more permanent home in the Central Bar in Aungier Street.

The choir’s first public performance took place in 1969 in what was then the Intercontinental Hotel, later to become Jury’s in Ballsbridge. The concert was remembered mainly for the fact that the stage collapsed under the choir as it sang!

In 1970, on the eve of the Ireland-Wales rugby match, the choir sang in Old Wesley Rugby Club under the direction of Keith Young for the first time.  Keith has wielded the MD’s baton ever since.  Also in 1970, the choir competed in the Pan Celtic Festival in Killarney.   In 1976, the choir returned to Killarney and won the male voice choir competition for the first time.

By the mid 1970s, the choir was well established and widely recognised in Ireland and beyond for its unique style and repertoire.