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Altan (band)
Altan are an Irish folk music band formed in County Donegal in 1987 by lead vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her husband Frankie Kennedy. The group were primarily influenced by traditional Irish language songs from Donegal and have sold over a million records. The group were the first traditional Irish group to be signed to a major label when they signed with Virgin Records in 1994. The group has collaborated with Dolly Parton, Enya, The Chieftains, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, and many others. Origin As an 18-year-old young student and musician from Belfast, Frankie Kennedy used to travel to Gweedore, County Donegal on his summer holidays, learning Irish and playing traditional Irish music on Irish flute and tin whistle. There he met native 14-year-old Irish-speaker and musician Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, the daughter of musician Proinsias Ó Maonaigh from Gweedore and the two fell in love with each other but Ní Mhaonaigh being very young, an innocent friendship began. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gweedore
Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly in the south and around from Dunlewey in the east to Magheraclogher in the west, and is one of Europe's most densely populated rural areas. It is the largest Irish-speaking parish in Ireland with a population of around 4,065, and is also the home of the northwest regional studios of the Irish-language radio service RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, as well as an external campus of NUI Galway, National University of Ireland, Galway. Gweedore includes the villages Bunbeg, Derrybeg, Dunlewey, Crolly and Brinlack, and sits in the shade of County Donegal's highest peak, Errigal. Gweedore is known for being a cradle of culture of Ireland, Irish culture, with old Irish customs, traditional music, theatre, Gaelic games and the Irish lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankie Kennedy
Frankie Kennedy (30 September 1955 – 19 September 1994) was a flute and tin whistle player born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was also the co-founder of the band Altan, formed with his wife Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. The popular ''Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School'' was founded in 1994 in his honour. Biography Early life He had three sisters and one brother. Kennedy's uncle was married to the daughter of Robert Cinnamond, a singer from Glenavy, County Antrim, who was a frequent visitor in his family home. Kennedy became interested in Irish traditional music when he was 18 years old, through the music of Horslips, Planxty, The Chieftains, and The Boys of the Lough. He learned his Irish as a young man in Belfast's Cumann Chluain Árd and travelled frequently to Donegal to perform at local sessions in Gweedore with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. Marriage When Kennedy was eighteen he took a sixth form summer trip to the Gaeltacht of Gweedore in County Donegal. He went to a sessi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Independent
The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet newspaper, it introduced an additional compact size in 2004. Further, in December 2012 (following billionaire Denis O'Brien's takeover) it was announced that the newspaper would become compact only. History Murphy and family (1905–1973) The ''Irish Independent'' was formed in 1905 as the direct successor to ''The Irish Daily Independent and Daily Nation'', an 1890s' pro-Parnellite newspaper. It was launched by William Martin Murphy, a controversial Irish nationalist businessman, staunch anti-Parnellite and fellow townsman of Parnell's most venomous opponent, Timothy Michael Healy from Bantry. The first issue of the ''Irish Independent'', published 2 January 1905, was marked as "Vol. 14. No. 1". During the 1913 Lockout of workers, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proinsias Ó Maonaigh
Proinsias Ó Maonaigh () or Francie Mooney (28 April 1922 – 28 March 2006) was a fiddler from Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair), County Donegal, Ireland. He is known for his distinguished fiddle playing and his unique and vast contribution to Irish music and culture. He is the father of Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (fiddle player, lead vocalist and cofounder of Irish folk music band Altan) and grandfather of fiddle player Ciarán Ó Maonaigh. Early life Born in Gaoth Dobhair in 1922 as the youngest of eight children, he was a son of a famous musician from the area Róise Mhór who would have played with An Píobaire Mór ("The Great Piper") Tarlach Mac Suibhne. It was an Irish speaking household and traditional music was nurtured within the home and they were taught many Irish songs. Life and career In 1954, he married a Gaoth Dobhair woman, Kitty Ní Ghallchóir, and they have three children: Gearóid Ó Maonaigh, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Áine Ní Mhaonaigh (or Anna Mooney). Francie is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tin Whistle
The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria. A tin whistle player is called a whistler. The tin whistle is closely associated with Irish traditional music and Celtic music. Other names for the instrument are the flageolet, English flageolet, Scottish penny whistle, tin flageolet, or Irish whistle (also ga, feadóg stáin or feadóg). History The tin whistle in its modern form is from a wider family of fipple flutes which have been seen in many forms and cultures throughout the world. In Europe, such instruments have a long and distinguished history and take various forms, of which the most widely known are the recorder, tin whistle, Flabiol, Txistu and tabor pipe. Predecessors Almost all primitive cultures had a type of fipple flute, and it is most likely the first pitched flu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irish Flute
The Irish flute is a conical-bore, simple-system wooden flute of the type favoured by classical flautists of the early 19th century, or to a flute of modern manufacture derived from this design (often with modifications to optimize its use in Irish Traditional Music, Scottish Traditional Music or Music of Brittany and other Celtic nations). The majority of traditional Irish flute players use a wooden, simple-system flute. Although it is played in every county in Ireland, the flute has a strong heartland in the mid-western counties of Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo, South Fermanagh, East Galway, Clare and West Limerick. Physical characteristics The Irish flute is a simple system, transverse flute which plays a diatonic (Major) scale as the tone holes are successively uncovered. Most flutes from the Classical era, and some of modern manufacture include metal keys and additional tone holes to achieve partial or complete chromatic tonality. Due to its wooden construction, character ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Traditional Irish Music
Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there were at least ten instruments in general use. These were the ''cruit'' (a small harp) and '' clairseach'' (a bigger harp with typically 30 strings), the ''timpan'' (a small string instrument played with a bow or plectrum), the ''feadan'' (a fife), the ''buinne'' (an oboe or flute), the ''guthbuinne'' (a bassoon-type horn), the ''bennbuabhal'' and ''corn'' ( hornpipes), the ''cuislenna'' (bagpipes – see Great Irish warpipes), the ''stoc'' and ''sturgan'' (clarions or trumpets), and the ''cnamha'' (bones).''A History of Irish Music: Chapter II ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom and the second-largest in Ireland. It had a population of 345,418 . By the early 19th century, Belfast was a major port. It played an important role in the Industrial Revolution in Ireland, briefly becoming the biggest linen-producer in the world, earning it the nickname "Linenopolis". By the time it was granted city status in 1888, it was a major centre of Irish linen production, tobacco-processing and rope-making. Shipbuilding was also a key industry; the Harland and Wolff shipyard, which built the , was the world's largest shipyard. Industrialisation, and the resulting inward migration, made Belfast one of Ireland's biggest cities. Following the partition of Ireland in 1921, Belfast became the seat of government for Northern Ireland ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alison Krauss
Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with Rounder Records in 1985 and released her first solo album in 1987. She was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and later released her first album with them as a group in 1989. Krauss has released fourteen albums, appeared on numerous soundtracks, and sparked a renewed interest in bluegrass music in the United States. Her soundtrack performances have led to further popularity, including the ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' soundtrack, and the ''Cold Mountain'' soundtrack, which led to her performance at the 2004 Academy Awards. As of 2019, she has won 27 Grammy Awards from 42 nominations, ranking her fourth behind Beyoncé, Quincy Jones and classical conductor Georg Solti for most G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American blues singer and guitarist. In 1971, Raitt released her self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed roots-influenced albums that incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk, and country. She was also a frequent session player and collaborator with other artists, including Warren Zevon, Little Feat, Jackson Browne, The Pointer Sisters, John Prine and Leon Russell. In 1989, after several years of limited commercial success, she had a major hit with her tenth studio album '' Nick of Time'', which included the song of the same name. The album reached number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. It has since been selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry. Her following two albums, '' Luck of the Draw'' (1991) and ''Longing in Their Hearts'' (1994), were multimillion sellers, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a traditional Irish folk band formed in Dublin in 1962, by Paddy Moloney, Seán Potts and Michael Tubridy. Their sound, which is almost entirely instrumental and largely built around uilleann pipes, has become synonymous with traditional Irish music. They are regarded as having helped popularise Irish music around the world. They have won six Grammy Awards during their career and they were given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2002 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Some music experts have credited The Chieftains with bringing traditional Irish music to a worldwide audience, so much so that the Irish government awarded them the honorary title of 'Ireland's Musical Ambassadors' in 1989. Name The band's name came from the book ''Death of a Chieftain'' by Irish author John Montague. Assisted early on by Garech Browne, they signed with his company Claddagh Records. They needed financial success abroad, and succeeded in this. Career Origins Paddy Moloney was a member ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album debut in 1967 with ''Hello, I'm Dolly'', which led to success during the remainder of the 1960s (both as a solo artist and with a series of duet albums with Porter Wagoner), before her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s. Parton's albums in the 1990s did not sell as well, but she achieved commercial success again in the new millennium and has released albums on various independent labels since 2000, including her own label, Dolly Records. She has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Parton's music includes Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards. She has had 25 singles reach no.1 on the '' Billboard'' country music charts, a record fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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