Laoise Kelly is a traditional Irish music composer and harpist. She won the 2020 Musician of the Year Award.

Biography

Laoise Kelly is from

Westport, County Mayo Westport (, historically anglicised as ''Cahernamart'') is a town in County Mayo in Ireland.Westport Before 1800 by Michael Kelly published in Cathair Na Mart 2019 It is at the south-east corner of Clew Bay, an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean on th ...

. Kelly learned music from her father and began learning the harp from when she was 12. She learned from Ann-Marie Scanlon and

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as well as

John Hoban John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. Kelly has been described as the "most significant harper of her generation". She has founded a number of groups including ''Bumblebees'' and ''Fiddletree'' with whom she has several albums each. She has also recorded albums with a wide variety of Irish artists including

Uilleann piper The uilleann pipes ( or , ) are the characteristic national bagpipe of Ireland. Earlier known in English as "union pipes", their current name is a partial translation of the Irish language terms (literally, "pipes of the elbow"), from their ...

Tiarnán Ó Duinnchinn,

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and American musician Tim O’Brien. She also tours with pipers, fiddlers and singers. Kelly lives on

Achill Island Achill Island (; ga, Acaill, Oileán Acla) in County Mayo is the largest of the Irish isles, and is situated off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It has a population of 2,594. Its area is . Achill is attached to the mainland by ...

and was involved in founding the new Achill International Harp Festival. Kelly is also a composer and has written music for The Abbey, Dublin and the

National Theatre of Scotland The National Theatre of Scotland, established in 2006, is the national theatre company of Scotland. The company has no theatre building of its own; instead it tours work to theatres, village halls, schools and site-specific locations, both at h ...

when they worked together on Theatre Gu Leòr’s Scotties. She's also worked as the musical director for theatre productions which took part in the Edinburgh festival. She has won three all-Ireland

Fleadh Cheoil 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 ...

harp competitions and the O’Carolan Harp Festival. Kelly has performed on TV and radio as well as for heads of state. She represented Ireland at the World Harp Festival in Paraguay.

Awards

*1992 the Waterford Crystal harp at the Belfast Bicentennial Harp Festival. *2020 TG4 Musician of the Year

Albums

;Bumblebees *Bumblebees (1997) *Buzzin (1999) ;Solo *Just Harp (1999) *Ceis (2010) *Fáilte Uí Cheallaigh (2015) ;with Tiarnan Ó Duinnchinn *Ar Lorg na Laochra, (2016) ;with Michelle O’Brien *The Wishing Well (2010)

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Laoise Musicians from County Mayo Traditional musicians Irish composers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)