Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh
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Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (IPA: ˈmaɾʲed̪ nʲiː ˈwiːn̪i) is the fiddler and lead vocalist for famed Irish traditional band Altan.
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[edit] Biography
Ní Mhaonaigh grew up in Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland. She is virtuosic even in a musical genre dominated by fiddle players; distinguished because of her Donegal repertoire from other singers. Mairéad has always had an equal love of singing and again learnt many songs from neighbours and friends in Gaoth Dobhair.
Her father, Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, taught her to play the fiddle. She received tuition and inspiration 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.[1]
Ní Mhaonaigh has two siblings. Her brother Gearóid played guitar for Ragairne (a short-lived band formed by Ní Mhaonaigh and Frankie Kennedy), appeared on the album Ceol Aduaigh, and organizes the Frankie Kennedy Winter School. Her younger sister Anna has contributed backing vocals to several albums and was a member of the group Macalla.[2]
She met with 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.
[edit] Work
Forsaking their jobs as teachers, they formed the band Altan during the late eighties. Kennedy's tragic death from cancer in 1994 put the band's future in question, but she decided to continue at Kennedy's explicit request.
She and her second husband, Altan's accordionist Dermot Byrne, currently lead Altan. Ní Mhaonaigh and Byrne have a daughter named Nia.
As well as her work with Altan, Mairéad over the years has presented traditional music programmes on radio and television, including the classic radio show, "The Long Note" and the television series, "The Pure Drop".
[edit] Notes
[edit] References
- Altan: The History. Altan band web site. Retrieved on 10 January 2006.
- O'Regan, John. Angels of the Island. The Living Tradition. Retrieved on 11 January 2006.
- Robinson, Michael (Fall 1995). "An Interview with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh". Fiddler Magazine.
- Vallely, Fintan; Piggott, Charlie (1998). Blooming Meadows: The World of Irish Traditional Musicians, Nutan, Roberts Rinehart Publishers. ISBN 1860590675.
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