Áine Minogue (born 27 May 1977,

Borrisokane Borrisokane () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is situated at the junction of the N52 and N65 national secondary roads. At the 2016 census, it had a population of 942. The Ballyfinboy River flows through the town on its way to Loug ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after t ...

) is an Irish harpist, singer, arranger and composer, now living in the

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most p ...

area. She has recorded thirteen solo albums in styles generally categorized as Celtic, world, folk, spiritual, and new age.

Early life

Áine Minogue was born in Ireland to a family of ten, which often played and sang at traditional Irish events such as

fleadh 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 cit ...

s and Hunting the Wren. She was 12 when she started playing the

Irish harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring gre ...

at a boarding school in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. Minogue became a harpist at

Bunratty Castle Bunratty Castle (, meaning "castle at the mouth of the Ratty") is a large 15th-century tower house in County Clare, Ireland. It is located in the centre of Bunratty village ( ga, Bun Ráite), by the N18 road between Limerick and Ennis, near ...

in County Clare. She obtained a Master's Degree in Traditional Irish Harp Performance 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 ...

. She moved to Boston in 1990.

Music career

Minogue's debut album, ''Were You at the Rock'', consisted of traditional dance and concert pieces. ''Mysts of Time'' (1996) was a mix of traditional tunes and original songs, with mostly Gaelic lyrics. It was seen as belonging to the Irish wave of New Age/Celtic fusion and associated with the sound of

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

. Her voice was described as "fragile, lilting... like a gently windblown satin sheet." ''To Warm the Winter's Night'' (1996) was a popular collection of Celtic and English

midwinter Midwinter is the middle of the winter. The term is attested in the early Germanic calendars. Attestations Midwinter is attested in the early Germanic calendars, where it appears to have been a specific day or a number of days during the winter ha ...

and Christmas music. ''Circle of the Sun'' (1998) was a musical journey through the seasons with a focus on the four Celtic calendar festivals of

Lughnasadh Lughnasadh or Lughnasa ( , ) is a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season. Historically, it was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Modern Irish it is called , in gd, Lùnastal, and in gv, ...

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...

Imbolc Imbolc or Imbolg (), also called Saint Brigid's Day ( ga, Lá Fhéile Bríde; gd, Là Fhèill Brìghde; gv, Laa'l Breeshey), is a Gaelic traditional festival. It marks the beginning of spring, and for Christians it is the feast day of Sain ...

, and

Beltane Beltane () is the Gaelic May Day festival. Commonly observed on the first of May, the festival falls midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. The festival name is synonymous with the month marking the ...

. She mixed her own

Celtic harp The Celtic harp is a triangular frame harp traditional to the Celtic nations of northwest Europe. It is known as in Irish, in Scottish Gaelic, in Breton and in Welsh. In Ireland and Scotland, it was a wire-strung instrument requiring gre ...

with guitars, cellos, fiddles, flutes, and

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or othe ...

s, but also folk instruments from other traditions such as

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

and

djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe comes from the saying "Anke d ...

. ''Celtic Lamentations'' (2005) explored how ancient people used music to mourn. It won Zone Music Reporter's Best Celtic Album award. ''A Winter's Journey'', a

CatholicTV The CatholicTV Network, commonly known as CatholicTV, is a Catholic television network based in Watertown, Massachusetts. CatholicTV first launched locally in Boston in 1955, making it the oldest Catholic television network in the United States. ...

Christmas special produced by Minogue where she plays Celtic music with her friends in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, was nominated for a New England Emmy Award.

Discography

Solo albums

With Druidstone (band)

*''Vow: an Irish Wedding Celebration'' (1999) *''The Spirit of Christmas''

Collaborations and compilations

*(Various Artists), ''Celtic Visions'' (RCA Victor/BMG) *(Various Artists), "Sacred Spirit" Celtic Twilight (Hearts of Space) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Wave'' (Sony/BMG) *(Various Artists), ''Dublin to Dakar'' (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), ''Echoes Living Room Series'', Vol. 4 *(Various Artists), ''A Winter's Tale'' (Universal) *(Various Artists), "Celtic Lullaby" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), ''Exotica - World Music Divas'' (BMG Classics) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Heartbeat Christmas'' (Decca) *(Various Artists), "European Playground" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Christmas'' II (Windham Hill/BMG) *(Various Artists), "Highlands IV" (Warner Bros) *(Various Artists), "A Celtic Heartbeat Christmas" (Atlantic) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Spirit'' (Narada/Virgin) *(Various Artists), ''Celtic Love'' (JVC Victor) *(Various Artists), "Celtic Christmas" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), "Still" (Echoes) *(Various Artists), "Celtic Dreamland" (Putumayo) *(Various Artists), "Comfort & Joy" (Rounder) *(Various Artists), "A Christmas Celtic Sojourn" (Rounder) *(Various Artists), "Exotica, World Music Divas" (RCA Victor/BMG) *John O'Donohue "To Bless the Space Between Us" (Sounds True) *John O'Donohue, "Soul Friend/Anam Chara" spoken word (Sounds True)

Special projects & collaborations

* Tommy Makem ''Ancient Pulsing'' (PBS/TV and CD) * ''Tommy Makem's Ireland'' (PBS/TV) * John O'Donohue, "Soul Friend/Anam Chara" spoken word (Sounds True) * Michael Dowling, Artist installation "Freshwater" * Stirling Harris ''The Little Horse that Could'' (soundtrack) * Wilfred E. Richard, Photographer ''The Four Seasons/Hidden Landscapes'' (soundtrack) * Dr. Ray Shea ''Yeats Country'' (soundtrack)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Minogue, Aine Irish harpists Musicians from County Tipperary Living people 1977 births People from Borrisokane