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Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
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singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the group
De Dannan
De Dannan (originally ''Dé Danann'') is an Irish folk music group. It was formed 1975 by Frankie Gavin ( fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott ( banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughe ...
and has since embarked on a solo career.
Background
Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near
Tuam
Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...
) in rural
County Galway
"Righteousness and Justice"
, anthem = ()
, image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg
, map_caption = Location in Ireland
, area_footnotes =
, area_total_km2 = ...
in the west of Ireland. From the age of four she was raised by her aunts
Rita
Rita may refer to:
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* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
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* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
and Sarah Keane, also well-known
sean-nós singers. Keane started her singing at a very young age, due to the influence of her musical aunts. She made her first recording for
Radio Éireann
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
in 1958, at the age of five. This early start inevitably meant that Keane would have a career in music. Her brother,
Seán
Sean, also spelled Seán or Séan in Irish English, is a male given name of Irish origin. It comes from the Irish versions of the Biblical Hebrew name ''Yohanan'' (), Seán (anglicized as ''Shaun/ Shawn/ Shon'') and Séan (Ulster variant; anglici ...
, also went on to enjoy a successful music career.
Musical career
De Dannan
In 1975, she co-founded the
traditional Irish band
De Dannan
De Dannan (originally ''Dé Danann'') is an Irish folk music group. It was formed 1975 by Frankie Gavin ( fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott ( banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughe ...
,
and they released their debut album ''Dé Danann'' in that same year. The group gained international recognition and enjoyed major success in the late 1970s in the US. Keane went touring with the band and their single "The Rambling Irishman" was a big hit in Ireland. In early 1976, after a short two-year spell, Keane left De Dannan and was replaced by
Andy Irvine, who recorded live with the band on 30 April 1976, during the Third Irish Folk Festival in Germany. Soon thereafter, she married multi-instrumentalist John Faulkner, with whom she would subsequently record three albums of folk music.
Solo career
Keane lived and worked in London for several years with Faulkner, before they moved to Ireland in the early 1980s. They worked on a series of film scores and programmes for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and formed two successful bands, The Reel Union and Kinvara. During this period Keane recorded her first solo album, ''There Was a Maid'' in 1978.
This was followed by two other releases, ''Broken Hearted I'll Wander'' (1979) and ''Farewell to Eirinn'' (1980), which gave credit to Faulkner.
In the mid-1980s, she rejoined
De Dannan
De Dannan (originally ''Dé Danann'') is an Irish folk music group. It was formed 1975 by Frankie Gavin ( fiddle), Alec Finn (guitar, bouzouki), Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott ( banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughe ...
and recorded the albums ''Anthem'' and ''Ballroom'' with them.
Keane turned her attention, once again, to her solo career in 1988. It saw the release of the eponymous ''Dolores Keane'' album.
Her follow-up album ''A Lion in a Cage'', which was released in 1989, featured a song written by Faulkner called "Lion in a Cage",
protesting the imprisonment of
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...
. It became Keane's first Irish number-one single, and she performed the hit at the celebration of his release. This exposure expanded Keane's reputation and popularity worldwide. A new facet was added to Dolores' career when she played the female lead in the Dublin production of
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Aidan Behan (christened Francis Behan) ( ; ga, Breandán Ó Beacháin; 9 February 1923 – 20 March 1964) was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, playwright, and Irish Republican activist who wrote in both English an ...
's ''
The Hostage'', a new translation by
Niall Tóibín
Niall Tóibín (; 21 November 1929 – 13 November 2019) was an Irish comedian and actor. Born in Cork into an Irish speaking family, Tóibín grew up on the north-side of the city in Bishop's Field.
He appeared in ''Ryan's Daughter'', ''Brides ...
and
Michael Scott, the opening night of which was attended by
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson ( ga, Máire Mhic Róibín; ; born 21 May 1944) is an Irish politician who was the 7th president of Ireland, serving from December 1990 to September 1997, the first woman to hold this office. Prior to her electi ...
, the President of Ireland at the time.
In 1992, Keane was among the many female Irish singers to lend their music to the record-smashing anthology ''
A Woman's Heart''. The album, which also featured
Eleanor McEvoy
Eleanor McEvoy (born 22 January 1967) is an Irish singer-songwriter. She composed the song "Only a Woman's Heart", title track of '' A Woman's Heart'', the best-selling Irish album in Irish history.
Early life and beginnings
McEvoy's life as ...
,
Mary Black
Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland.
Background
Mary Black was born into a m ...
,
Frances Black
Frances Black (born 25 June 1960) is an Irish singer and politician. She came to prominence in the late 1980s when she began to play with her family's band, the Black Family, performing a mix of traditional and contemporary Irish music.
Bla ...
,
Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon (born 8 June 1968) is an Irish musician, best known for her work with the button accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 debut album, ''Sharon Shannon,'' was the best-selling ...
and
Maura O'Connell
Maura O'Connell (born 16 September 1958) is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music.
Background
O'Connell was born in Ennis, the main t ...
, went on to become the biggest-selling album in
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 ...
history. ''A Woman's Heart Vol. 2'' was released in late 1994 and emulated its predecessor in album charts the world over. Also in 1994, a solo album, entitled ''Solid Ground'', was released on the Shanachie label (available on Dara Records) and received critical acclaim in Europe and America.
In August 1995, Keane was awarded the prestigious 'Fiddler's Green Hall of Fame' award in
Rostrevor
Rostrevor () is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough, near Warrenpoint. The Kilbroney River flows through the village and Rostrevor Forest is nearby. ...
,
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
, for her "significant contribution to the cause of Irish music and culture". In that same year, she took to the stage in the
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
production of
JM Synge's ''
Playboy of the Western World
''The Playboy of the Western World'' is a three-act play written by Irish playwright John Millington Synge and first performed at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, on 26 January 1907. It is set in Michael James Flaherty's public house in County Mayo (o ...
''. Dolores contributed to the
RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
/
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television production ''Bringing It All Back Home'' (1991), a series of programmes illustrating the movement of Irish music to America.