Áine Minogue (born 27 May 1977,

Borrisokane Borrisokane () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is situated at the junction of the N52 and N65 national secondary roads. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 942. The Ballyfinboy River flows through the town on its way to Lough ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...

) is an Irish harpist, singer, arranger and composer, now living in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

area. She has recorded thirteen solo albums in styles generally categorized as Celtic, world, folk, spiritual, and new age.

Early life

Áine Minogue was born in Ireland to a family of ten, which often played and sang at traditional Irish events such as

fleadh The Fleadh Cheoil (; meaning "festival of music") is an Irish music festival run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ), a non-profit organisation. The festival includes live music events as well as competition. Each year a single town or city ...

s and

Hunting the Wren "The Cutty Wren" and its variants such as "The Hunting of the Wren" are traditional English folk songs. It is also the territorial song for the British overseas territory of Tristan da Cunha. The origins and meaning of the song are disputed. It i ...

. She was 12 when she started playing the Irish harp at a boarding school in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. Minogue became a harpist at Bunratty Castle in County Clare. She obtained a Master's Degree in Traditional Irish Harp Performance from the University of Limerick. She moved to Boston in 1990.

Music career

Minogue's debut album, ''Were You at the Rock'', consisted of traditional dance and concert pieces. ''Mysts of Time'' (1996) was a mix of traditional tunes and original songs, with mostly

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

lyrics. It was seen as belonging to the Irish wave of New Age/Celtic fusion and associated with the sound of

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

. Her voice was described as "fragile, lilting... like a gently windblown satin sheet." ''To Warm the Winter's Night'' (1996) was a popular collection of Celtic and English

midwinter Midwinter is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the early Germanic calendars. Attestations Midwinter is attested in the early Germanic calendars, where it appears to have been a specific day or a number of days during the winter ha ...

and Christmas music. ''Circle of the Sun'' (1998) was a musical journey through the seasons with a focus on the four Celtic calendar festivals of Lughnasadh, Samhain, Imbolc, and Beltane. She mixed her own Celtic harp with guitars, cellos, fiddles, flutes, and bodhráns, but also folk instruments from other traditions such as

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

and

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

. ''Celtic Lamentations'' (2005) explored how ancient people used music to mourn. It won Zone Music Reporter's Best Celtic Album award. ''A Winter's Journey'', a

CatholicTV The CatholicTV Network, commonly known as CatholicTV, is a Catholic television network based in Watertown, Massachusetts. CatholicTV first launched locally in Boston in 1955, making it the oldest Catholic television network in the United States. ...

Christmas special produced by Minogue where she plays Celtic music with her friends in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, was nominated for a

New England Emmy Award New England Emmy Awards are a division of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. The division was founded in 1977 and in addition to granting the New England Emmy Awards, it recognizes awards scholarships, honors industry veterans ...

Discography

Solo albums

With Druidstone (band)

*''Vow: an Irish Wedding Celebration'' (1999) *''The Spirit of Christmas''

Collaborations and compilations

*(Various Artists), ''Celtic Visions'' (RCA Victor/BMG) *(Various Artists), "Sacred Spirit" Celtic Twilight (Hearts of Space) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Wave'' (Sony/BMG) *(Various Artists), ''Dublin to Dakar'' (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), ''Echoes Living Room Series'', Vol. 4 *(Various Artists), ''A Winter's Tale'' (Universal) *(Various Artists), "Celtic Lullaby" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), ''Exotica - World Music Divas'' (BMG Classics) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Heartbeat Christmas'' (Decca) *(Various Artists), "European Playground" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Christmas'' II (Windham Hill/BMG) *(Various Artists), "Highlands IV" (Warner Bros) *(Various Artists), "A Celtic Heartbeat Christmas" (Atlantic) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Spirit'' (Narada/Virgin) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Love'' (JVC Victor) *(Various Artists), "Celtic Christmas" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), "Still" (Echoes) *(Various Artists), "Celtic Dreamland" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), "Comfort & Joy" (Rounder) *(Various Artists), "A Christmas Celtic Sojourn" (Rounder) *(Various Artists), "Exotica, World Music Divas" (RCA Victor/BMG) *John O'Donohue "To Bless the Space Between Us" (Sounds True) *John O'Donohue, "Soul Friend/Anam Chara" spoken word (Sounds True)

Special projects & collaborations

* Tommy Makem ''Ancient Pulsing'' (PBS/TV and CD) * ''Tommy Makem's Ireland'' (PBS/TV) * John O'Donohue, "Soul Friend/Anam Chara" spoken word (Sounds True) * Michael Dowling, Artist installation "Freshwater" * Stirling Harris ''The Little Horse that Could'' (soundtrack) * Wilfred E. Richard, Photographer ''The Four Seasons/Hidden Landscapes'' (soundtrack) * Dr. Ray Shea ''Yeats Country'' (soundtrack)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minogue, Aine Irish harpists Musicians from County Tipperary Living people 1977 births People from Borrisokane