Éabha McMahon (pronounced ''AY-va'') is a

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

Irish singer and a former member of the ensemble Celtic Woman. In 2020 she began recording music under the name AVA.

Early life

Éabha was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland on 9 December 1990. She is a fluent

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

speaker and was brought up singing and speaking Irish at home in Dublin. English was not spoken at home until Éabha was 6 years old. Éabha attended an Irish speaking primary school. When she was 5 years old, she was inspired by her teachers to become a member of the local Sean Nos choir. Éabha holds a Human Rights degree from

NUI Galway The University of Galway ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

. She was a member of the musical society at NUI Galway. After graduating, Éabha spent time in Vietnam and Mongolia. There, she worked with

Christina Noble Christina Noble is an Irish children's rights campaigner, charity worker and writer, who founded the Christina Noble Children's Foundation in 1989. Noble was born on 23 December 1944, in Dublin, Ireland. Her mother died when she was ten. She ...

and the

Christina Noble Children's Foundation The Christina Noble Children's Foundation, also known as simply the CNCF, is an international Non-governmental organization, non-government organization, dedicated to serving the world's oppressed and marginalized children. It was founded followin ...

Career

Éabha began her singing career in 1998 when, at the age of 9, she was chosen by Veritas to record an album for ''Beo go Deo'', a children's book. She then began singing in sean-nós, a traditional style, taught by such singers as

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

, Máire Ní Choilm, Íde Mac Mathúna, and Séamus Mac Mathúna. At the age of 15, Éabha won the under-18 All Ireland Oireachtais final. From age 13 to 17, she was the reigning

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of ...

champion in the Irish music competition

Fleadh Ceoil 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 ...

. Between the ages of 14 to 18, she was the

champion in the Fairview

Feis Ceoil Feis Ceoil ( ; "Festival of Music") is an Irish music organisation which holds an annual competitive festival of classical music. It was first organised in Dublin in 1897 by Dr. Annie Patterson and Edward Martyn for the purpose of stimulating musi ...

5 times. Éabha joined

Anúna Anúna (stylized in all caps) is a vocal ensemble formed in Ireland in 1987 by Irish composer Michael McGlynn under the name An Uaithne. Taking the current name in 1991,Allmusic Biography/ref> the group has recorded 18 albums and achieved a ...

at the age of 15. In 2008, she recorded the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

holiday special ''Anúna: Christmas Memories'', released that year on DVD and CD. In 2015 she featured as a soloist on the song ''Fill, Fill a Rún'' on the Anúna album ''Revelation''. In 2015, Éabha headlined a sold-out solo show in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, in aid of

Kylemore Abbey Kylemore Abbey ( ga, Mainistir na Coille Móire) is a Benedictine monastery founded in 1920 on the grounds of Kylemore Castle, in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. The abbey was founded for Benedictine Nuns who fled Belgium in World War I an ...

. Luke Kavanagh, a former college classmate of Éabha's, saw a video on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

of her singing ''Just Cry'', one of her songs. Luke referred the video to his father David Kavanagh, the then-chairman and chief executive of Celtic Woman Ltd. Éabha was subsequently invited to audition for Celtic Woman. Éabha joined Celtic Woman in July 2015. Éabha replaced

Lisa Lambe Lisa Lambe is an Irish singer, actress,songwriter and folklorist. Acting career Lisa graduated with a degree in acting from Trinity College Dublin. She was nominated for a Best Actress Award at the Irish Times Theatre Awards for her performan ...

in the ensemble. She remained in the group until 22 January 2020, when it was announced she was taking a leave to pursue her own projects. In 2020, Eabha began releasing new solo music under the name "AVA." In April, 2021, she released her first album, "Wildflower", on CD and streaming platforms.

Personal life

Éabha married John Gaffney in August 2018. On 5 December 2021, Éabha announced that she is expecting her first child, a girl.

Discography

; As AVA * ''Wildflower'' (2021) ; With Anúna * ''Christmas Memories'' (2008) * ''Revelation'' (2015) ; With Celtic Woman *'' Celtic Woman: Destiny'' (2015) *'' Celtic Woman: Voices of Angels'' (2016) *'' Celtic Woman: The Best of Christmas'' (2017) *'' Celtic Woman: Homecoming Live from Ireland'' (2018) *'' Celtic Woman: Ancient Land'' (2018) *'' Celtic Woman: The Magic of Christmas'' (2019)

References

External links

Celtic Woman: ÉabhaÉabha McMahon's WebsiteFacebook artist page for AVA music
{{DEFAULTSORT:McMahon, Eabha Celtic Woman members Living people 1990 births 21st-century Irish singers Musicians from Dublin (city) Irish-language singers 21st-century Irish women singers