''Postcards from Ireland'' is the fourteenth studio album released by the group

Celtic Woman Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble conceived and created by David Kavanagh, Sharon Browne and David Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show ''Riverdance.'' In 2004, Downes recruited five Irish female music ...

Background

On 20 April 2021,

announced the ''Postcards from Ireland'' tour, with

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

-born singer Muirgen O'Mahony replacing former member

Mairéad Carlin Mairéad Carlin is an Irish singer. She is a former member of the ensemble Celtic Woman and was the first-ever member of the group that was born in Northern Ireland. Early life Carlin was born in Derry. "Derry, my hometown, is a very cultured a ...

who left the group in January 2021 to pursue solo projects. On 10 September, "

The Dawning of the Day "The Dawning of the Day" ( ga, Fáinne Geal an Lae, literally "The bright ring of the day") is the name of two old Irish airs. * "Fáinne Geal an Lae" (sometimes called "The Golden Star"), an air composed by the harpist Thomas Connellan in the 17t ...

" was released as the first single from the album, accompanied by a lyric video. On 8 October, "

Mise Éire ''Mise Éire'' (, Irish for "I mIreland") is a 1912 Irish-language poem by the Irish poet and Republican revolutionary leader Patrick Pearse. Background ''Mise Éire is'' a 1912 Irish-language poem by the Irish poet and Republican revolutio ...

" was released as the second single from the album, also with a lyric video. The album was released on 29 October, and an accompanying music video for "

Wild Mountain Thyme "Wild Mountain Thyme" (also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?") is a Scottish/Irish folk song. The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song "The Braes of Balquhither" by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and S ...

" was released on the same day. ''Postcards from Ireland'' features vocalists

Chloë Agnew Chloë Alexandra Adele Emily Agnew (born 1989) is an Irish singer and songwriter, best known for being an original and former member of the Celtic music group Celtic Woman. Early life and career Agnew was born to Irish entertainer Adele " ...

, O'Mahony,

Megan Walsh Megan Ruby Walsh (born 19 February 1997) is an Irish singer who joined the singing group Celtic Woman in 2018. Biography Early life and education Megan Ruby Walsh was born on 19 February 1997. Her middle name "Ruby" comes from her maternal gran ...

and instrumentalist

Tara McNeill Tara McNeill (pronounced ''TAR-a'') is an Irish violinist, harpist, and soprano singer from Antrim, Northern Ireland. Early life and career McNeill comes from a family that is musically inclined. All her siblings play musical instruments. At S ...

. British folk group

the Longest Johns The Longest Johns are a British folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Dave Robinson, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and ...

make a guest appearance on the track "

Beeswing Beeswing may refer to: * Potassium bitartrate, a sediment from winemaking, used in cooking as "cream of tartar" * Beeswing (horse), a 19th-century champion racehorse from Northern England * "Beeswing", a song on Richard Thompson's 1994 album ''Mirr ...

", while former member Susan McFadden returned to the group as a guest performer on the track "

May it Be "May It Be" is a song by Irish recording artist Enya. It was composed by Enya and Roma Ryan for Peter Jackson's 2001 film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring''. The song entered the German Singles Chart at number one in 2002 and ...

Track listing

Note: All songs arranged, orchestrated and produced by Daragh O'Toole.

PBS special and DVD release background

A television special of the same title was broadcast on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

stations across the United States and Canada in November 2021. Directed by Irish filmmaker Donal Moloney and produced by Windmill Lane Pictures, the special consists of a subset of sixteen music videos filmed in different locations across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in mid-2021. A gift set containing a CD, DVD and a set of postcards was made available for donations made through local stations to support airings of the special. The DVD was later made available through the official PBS website, and was released generally on 21 January 2022.

DVD track listing

Personnel

Per the liner notes:

Celtic Woman

- vocals * Susan McFadden - vocals *

- fiddle, harp *

- vocals * Muirgen O'Mahony - vocals

Band

* Daragh O'Toole - piano, keyboards * Kieran Leonard - drums, bodhrán drum, percussion * Caitríona Frost - percussion * Darragh Murphy - whistles, uilleann pipes * John Hunt - bagpipes * Anthony Byrne - bagpipes * Johnny Boyle - drums, percussion * Brian Murphy - guitar, mandolin, banjo

The Orchestra of Ireland

* Jonathan Ford - orchestra contractor * Daragh O'Toole - orchestra leader * David Brophy - music director, conductor

Celtic Voices Choir

* Paul McGough - choral contractor

Production

* Daragh O'Toole - producer, recording arranger * Michael Manning - studio engineer * Simon Gibson - mastering engineer * Ger McDonnell - studio mixing ''

The Longest Johns The Longest Johns are a British folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Dave Robinson, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and ...

appear courtesy of

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

Charts

References

{{Celtic Woman 2021 video albums Manhattan Records albums Celtic Woman albums