Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh

Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (Irish pronunciation: [ˈmˠaɾʲeːd̪ˠ n̠ʲiː ˈwiːn̪ˠiː]; born 26 July 1959) is an Irish fiddler and the lead vocalist for the Irish folk music band Altan, which she co-founded with her husband Frankie Kennedy in 1987. Ní Mhaonaigh is recognised as a leading exponent in the Donegal fiddle tradition, and she is often considered one of the foremost singers in the Irish language, her native tongue. She was part of the Irish supergroup T with the Maggies who performed in January 2009 at Temple Bar TradFest in Dublin their first ever two concerts under that name and who released in October 2010 their debut (and to date only) album. After nearly 22 years with Altan, on 28 December 2008 Ní Mhaonaigh premiered in Gweedore (during the Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School) her debut solo album Imeall which was later released worldwide in February 2009. After 29 years with Altan, in October 2016 Ní Mhaonaigh released her alternate band Na Mooneys' debut album Na Mooneys. Ní Mhaonaigh grew up in Gweedore, County Donegal, on the northwest coast of Ireland. Her father, Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, taught her to play the fiddle. She received tuition from fiddler Dinny McLaughlin, who was a frequent visitor to the home when she was young. Ciarán Tourish, who would later join Altan, was also a frequent visitor to the family home and also received tuition from McLaughlin. Ní Mhaonaigh has two siblings: Her brother Gearóid Ó Maonaigh was an executive in an office for long years, played guitar for Ragairne (a short-lived band formed by Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy, of which singer Enya was a member), appeared on the album Ceol Aduaidh, and organised the Frankie Kennedy Winter School. Her younger sister Anna Ní Mhaonaigh, who was going from job to job, mostly in film and being PA to various TV projects, has contributed backing vocals to several albums and was a member of the (all female) group Macalla. She met Frankie Kennedy at a session at age 15. Kennedy was inspired to learn to play and soon became a talented flute player. They married in 1981. One evening, during a session in Gweedore (County Donegal), fifteen-year-old fiddle player Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, daughter of the session's leader Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, met with Belfast-born eighteen-year-old Frankie Kennedy during his summer trip to the Gaeltacht. They were attracted to each other, and Kennedy wrote to her regularly after leaving Donegal. Kennedy was advised by a friend that he should learn an instrument if he intended to court Ní Mhaonaigh, and so he got a whistle and taught himself to play. Later he learned the flute, a somewhat louder instrument, so that he could hear himself in sessions. His love for her coupled with perfectionist tendencies turned him into a well-respected flute player. Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh married in 1981. The new couple continued to play at sessions in Donegal, and this formed the basis for their musical partnership. They made their recording debut on Albert Fry's eponymous record in 1979 and later formed a short-lived group called Ragairne which also included Gearóid Ó Maonaigh, Ní Mhaonaigh's brother, on guitar, Donal O'Hanlon from Newry on guitar, vocals and cittern and was rejoined in 1981 by singer Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, later known as Enya. Joined by bouzouki player Ciarán Curran and Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, now known as Enya, on synthesizer, Frankie Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh released a recording entitled Ceol Aduaidh on Gael-Linn records in 1983. At the time, Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh were earning their living by teaching at St. Oliver Plunkett National School in Malahide, north County Dublin. But live performances in 1984 and 1985, particularly in the United States, convinced them that there was an audience for "no-compromise traditional music played with heart and drive," and they were persuaded to give up teaching. During this time, the group added guitarist Mark Kelly and released in 1987 a record called Altan, named after a lake in Donegal, although the name Altan wasn't used for the band on that release. Altan was produced by Dónal Lunny, who subsequently appeared as either a producer or guest musician on every Altan album which followed. Forsaking their jobs as teachers, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy formed the band Altan during the late 1980s. Kennedy's death from cancer in 1994 put the band's future in question, but she decided to continue at Kennedy's explicit request. As well as her work with Altan, Ní Mhaonaigh over the years has presented traditional music programmes on radio and television, including the radio show, The Long Note and the television series, The Pure Drop. Ní Mhaonaigh is a member of the fiddle ensemble String Sisters active as a band since 2005. Ní Mhaonaigh along with friends Moya Brennan, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill came together as T with the Maggies in 2007, and released their debut album T with the Maggies in October 2010. In 2007/08, Ní Mhaonaigh recorded Imeall, her debut (studio) album in the home studio of her friend and musician/co-producer Manus Lunny in Tír Chonaill, County Donegal, Ireland. On 28 December 2008, at the Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School in Gweedore, Ní Mhaonaigh premiered live some songs from the album in an intimate concert with Lunny. For this occasion, she also released a small number of copies of the album. On 12 February 2009, the album was officially launched in Dublin and released worldwide. Only 3000 physical copies were pressed and made available worldwide from her website. The title is Irish for 'Edge' or 'Threshold' and the album features traditional/folk songs as well as new compositions by Ní Mhaonaigh. Ní Mhaonaigh previously performed two special concerts in January 2008 at the Temple Bar TradFest with long-time friends Moya Brennan, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill and Tríona Ní Dhomhnaill. It was the second time the four musicians ever performed together. It was also the first time Ní Mhaonaigh performed live some songs from her then yet-to-be (worldwide) released solo album Imeall. For the occasion, she was joined by special guests who spent the last few years recording with her. Since February 2009, Ní Mhaonaigh (fiddle, lead vocals) has toured solo and (mostly) as a trio with Manus Lunny (bouzouki) & James Higgins (percussions). She has also guested a few times with other musicians such as French flutist Sylvain Barou (in June 2013 in Calais, France and in April 2014 in L'Île-d'Yeu, France) and French violinist Didier Lockwood (also in June 2013 in Calais). Ní Mhaonaigh also contributed a track, Má Théid Tú Chun Aonaigh to the Irish charitable album Ceol Cheann Dubhrann which was released in December 2009 to raise funds for two projects in Ranafast, a Gaeltacht area from which she has collected songs. Ní Mhaonaigh performed live on 28 January 2018 at Rathfarnham Castle, Dublin, Ireland. Along with her daughter Nia Byrne and her long-time fellow friend, neighbour and producer Manus Lunny, she performed live (before a backstage audience) a (39:50) set of tunes and songs on 3 October 2020 at the Cork Opera as part of the Cork Folk Festival. The live performance was filmed and the stream video was made available through the Cork Folk Festival Facebook page. On 17 January 2021, Ní Mhaonaigh announced that "[she'd] been really busy composing music for the An Grianán Theatre, Letterkenny, County Donegal", to be part of this year's Letterkenny Trad Week 2021. The song for the suite she composed is entitled "Ré an tSolais" which means "The Time of Light". Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Friends Full Concert was held as a live stream on Sunday evening 24 January 2021 (at 8pm GMT) (€10 per household) during Letterkenny Trad Week 2021 at the An Grianán Theatre. Benefits were due to go to Donegal Cancer Flights and Services and Donegal Hospice. On 5 March 2021, Ní Mhaonaigh announced that her new music piece "Ré an tSolais" would be broadcast on TG4 as part of a show due to be performed on St Patrick's