Máire Breatnach is an Irish

fiddle A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

and

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

player. She also sings 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 ...

on some of her albums. Since the early 1990s, she has recorded five solo albums, participated in many collaborations, and developed didactic material for children, mostly in

Early life

Born in Dublin, Máire Breatnach obtained a B.A., B.Mus. and M.A. degrees at UCD, in Dublin where she lectured, as she also did in the College of Music, DIT before starting a freelance career as a performing musician. She later obtained a further M.A., in Ethnomusicology, from the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...

, and a Ph.D. from

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) ( ga, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath) is a university based on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Higher Education, Dublin'' in 1975, it enrolled its f ...

in 2013.

Music career

Breatnach is best known for her

playing, and has been a prolific solo player as well as participating in a number of traditional and neo-traditional groups. She sings in

on some of her albums, and her composition ''Éist'' was an award-winning single. She has worked with the bands of

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 ...

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(of

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

), and

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 ...

, and features on albums by musicians as diverse as

Dolores Keane Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan and has since embarked on a solo career. Background Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...

Mike Oldfield Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

, Alan Stivell,

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

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, Matthias Kiebling,

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays left-handed guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozai ...

, Brian Kennedy,

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

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, and

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 wi ...

. In the mid-1990s, Máire was the original fiddle player in the

Bill Whelan Bill Whelan (born 22 May 1950 in Limerick, Ireland) is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, ''Riverdance'', was a seven-minute display of tradi ...

-composed stage show ''

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean ...

'', and subsequent soundtrack album. The show's main theme was performed (and was a huge hit) at the 1992

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

, representing Ireland. She can be seen and heard playing on the original ''Riverdance'' DVD/VHS, starring

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an Irish-American dancer. He became known for Irish dance shows ''Riverdance'', '' Lord of the Dance'', ''Feet of Flames'', and ''Celtic Tiger Live''. Flatley's shows have played to more than 60 milli ...

and

Jean Butler Jean Butler (born March 14, 1971) is an American stepdancer, a master of Irish Dance, choreographer, and actress. She is best known for originating the principal female role in the Irish dance theatrical production ''Riverdance''. In January 202 ...

. Máire has also played on the Celtic arrangement album '' Final Fantasy IV: Celtic Moon'', and with

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono (series), Chrono'', ''Xeno (series), Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven (series), Inazuma Eleven'' franch ...

on the arranged soundtrack to ''

Xenogears ''Xenogears'' is a 1998 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the debut entry in the larger '' Xeno'' franchise. The gameplay of ''Xenogears'' revolves around navigating 3D enviro ...

'', titled ''

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'', as well as featuring on albums by

Chiaki Ishikawa is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She is also the lead vocalist of Japanese musical duo See-Saw. Many of her songs, both solo and with See-Saw, have been used as theme songs in various anime series. Since 2003, her popularity abroad as part of S ...

and

Mimori Yusa , (born February 20, 1964, in Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture), is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She made her nationwide debut at the age of 6 on the TV program Chibikko Nodojiman, which she recited the Takibi nursery rhyme. Shortly after graduati ...

. Her collaboration with Thomas Loefke and Norland Wind is recorded on the CDs ''Norland Wind'', ''Atlantic Driftwood'', ''Northern Isles'' and ''Departures''. Máire's TV and film credits include ''

Glenroe ''Glenroe'' was a television drama series broadcast on RTÉ One in Ireland between September 1983, when the first episode was aired, and May 2001. A spin-off from ''Bracken'' — a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from ''The Riordans'' � ...

'', '' Tinteán'', and ''Voyage'' (part of the ''

Waterways A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

'' series), all on

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 ...

; '' A Freezing Summer'' (Japan), ''

Angela Mooney Dies Again ''Angela Mooney Dies Again'' is a 1997 American-Irish film. The executive producer was John Boorman. Cast *Mia Farrow *Patrick Bergin *Brendan Gleeson Production The script was awarded a grant in 1989. Filming took place in July 1996. it was s ...

'', ''

In the Name of the Father IN, In or in may refer to: Places * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Indepen ...

'', ''

The Secret of Roan Inish ''The Secret of Roan Inish'' is a 1994 independent fantasy-adventure film written and directed by John Sayles. It is based on the 1957 novel ''Secret of the Ron Mor Skerry'', by Rosalie K. Fry. It is centered on the Irish and Orcadian folklores ...

'', '' Rob Roy'' and ''

Moondance ''Moondance'' is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 27 January 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album ''Astral Weeks'' (1968), Morris ...

''.

Writing and academic career

Breatnach has written a traditional/folk music column for the Irish language weekly newspaper '' Anois'' and later for the monthly magazine ''

Comhar ''Comhar'' (; "partnership") is a prominent literary journal in the Irish language, published by the company Comhar Teoranta. It was founded in 1942, and has published work by some of the most notable writers in Irish, including Máirtín Ó Cadha ...

''. Since 2007, Breatnach has been involved in the preparation of CDs and books to accompany a range of Irish language material aimed at the Naíonra (pre-school) and early-reading age groups. Máire has produced, composed incidental music and performed on a range of instruments for more than 40 titles, as well as narrating many of them. Her first book, ''Vera agus a Veidhlín'', a children's musical story, illustrated by

Robert Ballagh Robert Ballagh (born 22 September 1943) is an Irish artist, painter and designer. He was born in Dublin and studied architecture at the Bolton Street College of Technology. His painting style was strongly influenced by pop art. He is particular ...

, was published in Dublin by

An Gúm An Gúm (, "The Scheme") was an Irish state company tasked with the publication of Irish literature, especially educational materials. The agency is now part of Foras na Gaeilge.

in 2008. In 2013, she was conferred with a Ph.D. by Dublin City University for her study, undertaken in St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, of the acquisition and transmission of

sean-nós singing Sean-nós singing ( , ; Irish for "old style") is unaccompanied traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. Sean-nós singing usually involves very long melodic phrases with highly ornamented and melismatic melodic ...

, ''Iomramh Aonair na nAmhrán: Sealbhú agus Seachadadh Thraidisiún an tSean-nóis i gComhthéacsanna ‘Neamhthraidisiúnta’''.''ibid'', Graduate Dissertations 2011-2014
. Retrieved 21 January 2015.

Selected discography

Solo

* ''Angels' Candles'' (1993) * ''The Voyage of Bran'' (1994) * ''Celtic Lovers'' (1997) * ''Angels' Candles/Coinnle na nAingeal'' (1999) * ''Dreams and Visions in Irish Song / Aislingí Ceoil'' (2002) * ''Cranna Ceoil / In Full Measure'' (2009)

Collaborations

* '' Riverdance: Music from the Show'' (1995) * ''Tarraing Téad / Pulling Strings'' (with Cormac De Barra) (2010)

References

External links

*http://www.mairebreatnach.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Breatnach, Maire Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century Irish women singers Irish fiddlers Irish-language singers Alumni of University College Dublin Alumni of the University of Limerick Alumni of Dublin City University 21st-century Irish women singers 21st-century violinists