Stephen Cooney is an Australian-Irish musician.

Early life

Cooney was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metr ...

, Victoria, Australia, where he learned to play the didgeridoo, and from the age of seventeen he played in a number of rock bands. He is of Irish ancestry.

Career

Cooney moved to Ireland in the early 1980s, and since then he played, noticeably the guitar, over 60 albums with Irish artists, such as the Irish band Altan,

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 synonymou ...

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 Andy Irvine. He also composes his own material and is a producer/arranger of traditional music. In 2019 he recorded and published at Claddagh Records the album ''Ceol Ársa Cláirsí:Tunes of the Irish Harpers for Solo Guitar''.

Personal life

Cooney was married to

Sinéad O'Connor Shuhada Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor on 8 December 1966; ) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Her debut album, '' The Lion and the Cobra'', was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second album, ''I Do Not Want Wha ...

from 2010 to 2011.

Selected discography

;With Franciscus Henri * '' Lord of the Dance'' (1969) ;With Mándu * ''To the Shores of His Heaven'' (1974) ;With

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums re ...

* ''

'' (1975) ;With Captain Rock * ''Buried Treasure'' (1975) ;With Seona McDowell * ''Down Country Roads on Gossamer Wings'' (1978) ;With Jake Walton * ''Sunlight and Shade'' (1983) * ''Songs from the Gurdy Man - Collection'' (1990) ;With Redgum * '' Frontline'' (1984) ;With Judy Small * ''Ladies and Gems'' (1984) ;With

Antonio Breschi Antonio Breschi, also known as Antóni O’Breskey (born in Florence, Italy 1950, with Argentine roots) is a composer, pianist and trumpet player, singer, writer, poet and music educator. Oliver Sweeney, in the Irish music magazine Hot Press, w ...

* ''Ode to Ireland'' (1982) * ''Tierras, Mares y Memorias'' (1986) ;With Dermot Morgan * ''Special Moments'' (1987) ;With Geraldine MacGowan and Anne Conroy * ''Winds of Change'' (1987) ;With

* ''

A Chieftains Celebration ''A Chieftains Celebration'' is an album by the Irish folk music group, The Chieftains. The title derives from the "celebration" of the millennium of the city of Dublin, Ireland. Track listing # "Coolin Medley" – 4:56 # "O'Mahoney's F ...

'' (1989) * '' The Long Black Veil'' (1995) * ''

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, wh ...

'' (1996) * ''Water from the Well'' (2002) ;With Sean Maguire * ''Portraid'' (1990) ;With Gerry O'Connor * ''Time to Time'' (1991) * ''Myriad'' (1998) ;With Áine Uí Cheallaigh * ''Idir Dha Chomhairle - In Two Minds'' (1992) ;With Tommy Sands * ''Beyond the Shadows'' (1992) * ''The Heart's a Wonder'' (1995) ;With

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-selli ...

* ''Sharon Shannon'' (1993) ;With Altan * '' Island Angel'' (1993) * '' Blackwater'' (1996) * '' Runaway Sunday'' (1997) * '' Another Sky'' (2000) * '' The Blue Idol'' (2002) * '' Local Ground'' (2005) ;With Liam O'Flynn * '' Out to an Other Side'' (1993) * '' The Given Note'' (1995) ;With Déanta * ''Déanta'' (1993) ;With Máirtín O'Connor * ''Chatterbox'' (1993) ;With Martin Hayes * ''Under the Moon'' (1995) ;With Dermot Byrne * ''Dermot Byrne'' (1995) ;With Matt Molloy * ''Shadows on Stone'' (1996) ;With Dordán * ''Christmas Capers'' (1996) * ''Celtic Aire'' (1999) ;With Alan Kelly * ''Out of the Blue'' (1996) ;With Various Artists * ''The Twentieth Anniversary Collection'' (1996) * ''Sult - Spirit of the Music'' (1996) * ''Celtic Christmas III'' (1997) * ''Magic Irish Romances'' (1998) * ''Celtic Christmas - Silver Anniversary Edition'' (2001) * ''Beginner's Guide to Ireland'' (2005) ;With Séamus Begley * ''Meitheal'' (1996) ;With The Cassidys * ''Singing from Memory'' (1998) ;With

Kíla Kíla is a 1987 Irish folk music/ world music group from the Irish language secondary school, Coláiste Eóin in County Dublin. Band History Kíla began in 1987 in the secondary in Coláiste Eoin, in the first year they busked nearly every wee ...

* ''Lemonade & Buns'' (2000) ;With Andy Irvine * ''

Rain on the Roof ''Rain on the Roof'' is a television drama by Dennis Potter, broadcast by ITV on 26 October 1980. It is the second in a loosely connected trilogy of plays exploring language and betrayal, produced for London Weekend Television by the independe ...

'' (1996) * '' Way Out Yonder'' (2001) ;With Tim O'Brien * ''Two Journeys'' (2001) ;With Secret Garden * '' Once in a Red Moon'' (2002) * '' Earthsongs'' (2004) ;With Sliabh Notes * ''Sliabh Notes'' (1995) * ''Gleanntán'' (1999) * ''Along Blackwater's Banks'' (2002) ;With Danny Doyle * ''Spirit of the Gael'' (2002) ;With Patrick Street * '' Street Life'' (2002) ;With

Virgin Prunes Virgin Prunes were an Irish post-punk band formed in 1977 in Dublin, Ireland. They disbanded in 1986 after the departure of singer Gavin Friday. The other members continued under the name The Prunes until they split up in 1991. History The V ...

* '' ...If I Die, I Die'' (2004) ;With Noel Hill * ''The Irish Concertina Two: Teacht Aniar'' (2005) ;With

* ''

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing t ...

'' (2007) ;With Luka Bloom * ''Sunny Sailor Boy / You Couldn't Have Come at a Better Time'' (2011) * ''This New Morning'' (2012) ;With

* '' Nádúr'' (2013)

References

External links

The Irish Tune Composers' Pages biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooney, Steve Living people 1953 births Australian people of Irish descent Australian guitarists Australian male composers Australian record producers Australian bass guitarists Didgeridoo players Stockton's Wing members Male bass guitarists Claddagh Records artists Australian male guitarists