Ulick O'Boyle was born in County Tyrone, Ireland in 1932. Ulick was schooled at a Catholic boarding school in Dublin run by Cistercian Monks. In the late 1940s the family moved from Ireland to England, mostly for work reasons as Thomas (Ulick's father) was offered a position at a surgery in Camden Town, London.
Ulick spent 7 years in the army where he trained to be a radiographer, he was sent to many places; Gibraltar being one he favoured. He left the army and travelled to Canada finding work in Manitoba as a builder on the new railways in the great expanse that is the Canadian North. Laying tracks into the new northern frontier inspired him to write and to capture this adventure and exciting experience.
Due to visa issues Ulick was forced to return to England; and here, he decided to enter the London School of Dramatic Arts.It was at this time that Ulick met Anne Rutherford and they decided to marry. Ulick began playing guitar and singing in pubs around Kilburn, London - mostly covering famous Irish popular ballads and songs. It was in these pubs and backroom bars he honed his performance skills and gained confidence. He also worked as a laborer on building sites and often complained that the conditions for workers was poor.
Ready for new adventure; Ulick, Anne and their two children (Shannon and Kieran) emigrated to Australia in 1962. Ulick found work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme, they moved to Jindabyne, and not long after, their third child Conn was born.
Ulick was singing around the pubs in the evenings and it didn't take long to meet Peter Barry, and with Anne, form the group The Settlers. Their first album was Songs of the Snowy Mountains.
Paul Davey replaced Peter Barry in 1967; and Ulick, Paul and Anne are the voices on the second snowy album 'More songs of the Snowy Mountains'.