The Black Family are a Celtic music ensemble, composed of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

and

Frances Black Frances Black (born 25 June 1960) is an Irish people, 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 (band), the Black Family, performing a mix of Traditi ...

and their siblings, Shay, Michael, and Martin. The family has been called "one of the most important musical clans in Ireland".

History

The five were born into a musical family; their father, who hailed from Rathlin Island, was a fiddle player, and their mother was a music hall singer. The siblings perform together as a quintet in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

from the 1970s to the present day, and in 1977, Mary continued to play solo and with the groups General Humbert and

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 Hughes's ...

. Both Mary and Frances went on to become highly successful solo artists. The five siblings recorded a self-titled album, released in 1986. In 1989, they recorded again, with Mary producing the album for her four siblings. They reunited in 2004 for a third album, which also features their mother, Patty, singing on one tune. They continue to reunite for occasional live performances. Shay and Michael moved to California in the early 1990s and continue to have successful musical careers performing as The Black Brothers. The brothers released ''What a Time'' in 1995. Michael released his first solo and self-titled CD, Michael Black, produced by John Doyle, in 2006. Michael and Shay Black continue to tour as a band, The Black Brothers, throughout the United States and Canada. Martin lives in Dublin, and although family commitments have reduced his music commitment, he still plays small gigs in Dublin.

Dynasty

Mary's son Danny O'Reilly is the lead singer of

The Coronas The Coronas are an Irish rock band that originated in Dublin. They release their music by their own independent record label, 3ú Records, and are based between Dublin and London. They have released seven studio albums, '' Heroes or Ghosts'' ...

and her daughter

Róisín O Róisín O is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. She is signed to independent label 3ú Records. She released her debut album ''The Secret Life of Blue'' in 2012, and it entered the Irish charts at number 21. The album was produced by D ...

is a singer-songwriter, while Frances' daughter

Aoife Scott Aoife Scott is an Irish singer-songwriter from Dublin. She was a finalist in the Liet International song contest for minority languages in 2011. Career Scott's first album, released in 2016, was entitled ''Carry The Day''. Scott has performed on ...

was a finalist in the

Liet International Liet International ( fy, Liet Ynternasjonaal), formerly Liet-Lávlut, is a song contest for musicians who speak any of Europe's regional or minority languages that was held the first time in Friesland in 2002. The goal of the festival is to boost in ...

song contest for minority languages in 2011, and her son Eoghan Scott is also a solo artist and producer.

Discography

*''The Black Family'' (Dara Records, 1986) *''Time for Touching Home'' (Dara, 1989) *''What a Time'' (Dara, 1995) *''Our Time Together'' (Dara, 2004)

References

External links

The Black Brothers web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Family, The Celtic music groups Family musical groups Musical groups from Dublin (city) Musical groups established in 1965 1965 establishments in Ireland

History

Dynasty

Discography

See also

References

External links