Celtic Music Biographies C

Mairead Ni Dhomhnaill
Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill of Donegal is one of Ireland's finest traditional singers. She was a member of Skara Brae with her siblings Triona Ni Dhomhnaill and Micheal O'Domhnaill. She takes most of her songs from the Donegal tradition, many of them from her own family. Steve Winick, All-Music Guide

Triona Ni Dhomhnaill
Triona Ni Dhomhnaill is one of the most influential female vocalists in the history of Irish music. In addition to a superb solo album, Triona, released in Ireland in 1975 and the United States in 1984, NiDhomhnaill's high-pitched vocals and keyboard playing has been an integral element of Skara Brae, The Bothy Band, Touchstone, Nightnoise and Relativity.

NiDhomhnaill hails from a prominent musical family. An aunt, Neilli, contributed nearly three hundred folk songs to the folklore collection of Dublin University. Together with her brother Michael O'Dhomhnaill, younger sister Maidread, and multi-instrumentalist Daithe Sproule, NiDhomhnaill first attracted attention with a folk group, Skara Brae, that specialized in songs sung in Gaelic.

When bouzouki player Donal Lunny left the Irish folk-rock band Planxty in 1975 and launched a new record label called Mulligan, one of his first projects was to form a band to accompany accordion player Tony MacMahon on a series of shows for Irish National Radio. Along with uilleann pipe player Paddy Keenan, flute and whistle player Matt Molloy and fiddle player Paddy Glackin, NiDhomhnaill and her brother became charter members. Initially named Seachtar (meaning "seven"), the group changed its name to the Bothy Band after the departure of MacMahon. As the Bothy Band, the group played their debut concert on February 2, 1975 at Trinity College in Dublin. Although they were only together for three years, NiDhomhnaill and the Bothy Band were one of the first bands to bring the musical traditions of Ireland up to contemporary standards. While the group experienced numerous personnel changes, NiDhomhnaill and her brother were still members when the Bothy Band's final album, After Hours, was recorded during a concer performance at the Palais Des Art in Paris in 1978. A second live album, Live In Concert, recorded by the BBC in London at Pares Theater in July 1976 and Kilburn National Theater in July 1978, was released in 1995.

By the time the Bothy Band disbanded in 1979, NiDhomhnaill had been persuaded by singer/songwriter Mike Cross to emigrate to Chapel Hill, North Carolina. NiDhomhnaill soon assembled a new band of North American musicians, Touchstone, that initially rehearsed in Cross' home. Touchstone's two albums, The New Land, released in 1982, and 1984's Jealousy, combined songs sung in Gaelic, original singer/songwriter tunes, and traditional folk songs from the United States and Nova Scotia.

Relocating to Portland, Oregon in the mid-1980s, NiDhomhnaill was reunited with her brother, who had emigrated to the area from Ireland a few years before. Together with the Cunningham brothers, Johnny and Phil, formerly with the Scottish group Silly Wizard, they toured and recorded two albums as Relativity. They also collaborated with Phil Cunningham and Brian Dunning, later replaced by Billy Oskay, in a Celtic-tinged new age group, Nightnoise. Craig Harris, All-Music Guide

Nightnoise
The brainchild of American violinist Billy Oskay and Irish guitarist Micheal O'Domhnaill, Nightnoise has evolved from a studio-oriented duo to a high-energy performing band. The music has been described as "classical Celtic pop" and "Irish-flavored, jazzy chamber music." Whatever you call it, the band's style is infectious, fun, and technically impressive. Linda Kohanov, All-Music Guide

More Bios:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Top of Page