Dublin natives Keith Roberts (vocals, guitar) and Paul O'Toole (vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica) formed the Young Dubliners in the early 1990s after meeting one another in a Los Angeles pub. Roberts had been tweaking some Irish ballads of his own and opted that a band would be in order. O'Toole obliged, as well as Brendan Holmes (bass). They introduced their hearty rock sound on the Rocky Road EP in 1994; their first studio album Breathe appeared a year later, as well as new member Charles Waltz (violin).