Órlagh Fallon (born 24 August 1974), professionally known as Órla Fallon, is an Irish singer, songwriter and former member of the group Celtic Woman and the chamber choir

Anúna Anúna (stylized in all caps) is a vocal ensemble formed in Ireland in 1987 by Irish composer Michael McGlynn under the name An Uaithne. Taking the current name in 1991,Allmusic Biography/ref> the group has recorded 18 albums and achieved a ...

Early life and education

Fallon was born in Knockananna,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. She plays the harp and sings

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

, most often in the

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

. Fallon studied at

Mater Dei Institute of Education Mater Dei Institute of Education ( ga, Institiúid Oideachais Mater Dei) was a linked college of Dublin City University from 1999 until its closure in 2016, located in Drumcondra, Dublin City, Ireland, near Croke Park, on the site of what was ...

, in Dublin. She has performed for the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and the

President of Ireland The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can be elected for a maximum of two terms.Constitu ...

and at Carnegie Hall.

Career

Early career

Fallon auditioned for Michael McGlynn and later joined Anúna. Her debut album, '' The Water is Wide'', was released in Europe in 2000 and in North America in 2006. In 2005, she was featured on

The Duggans The Duggans ( ga, Na Dúgáiní) were an Irish musical duo from Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland. The twin brothers Noel Duggan and Pádraig Duggan ( ga, Ó Dúgáin) came to prominence in the 1970s with the folk group Clannad (musical group) ...

album ''

Rubicon The Rubicon ( la, Rubico; it, Rubicone ; rgn, Rubicôn ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just north of Rimini. It was known as Fiumicino until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, famously crossed by Julius Ca ...

'' along with peers

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

and other members 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 ...

Celtic Woman

In 2004, Fallon sent a demo offer to composer David Downes, who was then working on the concept of Celtic Woman. Due to her unique vocal abilities, Downes contacted Fallon and asked if she would like to be a part of Celtic Woman, then only envisaged to be a one-night show. She agreed and became one of the founding members of the group as a singer and harpist. Fallon was featured in the self-titled debut album '' Celtic Woman'', '' Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration'' and '' Celtic Woman: A New Journey'' as well as in the tie-in PBS television specials and DVDs filmed in 2004, 2007, and 2006 respectively. She also toured with the group in 2005 on the inaugural North American Tour, the 2006-07 ''A New Journey'' tour, and again in 2007–08 on the second ''A New Journey'' tour. In 2009, Fallon announced that she would be leaving Celtic Woman to have a full break and spend time with her family and was replaced as a member of Celtic Woman by actress and vocalist Alex Sharpe.

Post-Celtic Woman

In 2009, Fallon appeared as a guest vocalist on

Jim Brickman James Merrill Brickman (born November 20, 1961) is an American pop songwriter, pianist and radio host. Brickman has earned two Grammy nominations for his albums ''Peace'' (2003) for Best Instrumental, and ''Faith'' (2009) for Best New Age Album. ...

's "It's a Beautiful World" tour and PBS special and released her second album '' Distant Shore'' in September of that year. This was followed in March 2010 with her third album '' Music of Ireland: Welcome Home''. In December 2010, Fallon released a PBS ''Celtic Christmas'' special and tie-in CD, titled '' Órla Fallon's Celtic Christmas'', the first time any former Celtic Woman member had starred in their own PBS special. In this special, as well as Fallon's own songs, there were also songs which featured a few guest singers, including former fellow Celtic Woman member

Méav Ní Mhaolchatha Méav Ní Mhaolchatha ( , ), mononymously known as Méav, is an Irish singer, songwriter and recording artist specialising in the traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary ...

, in which they sang a duet together ("Do you hear what I hear"), and ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'' runner up David Archuleta, who joined Fallon on stage to perform "Silent Night", "Pat a Pan", and the finale song of "Here we come A-Wassailing", which Ní Mhaolchatha was also featured in. This was the second Christmas album she recorded, the first being '' Winter, Fire & Snow: A Celtic Christmas Collection'' in September 2010. In March 2011, Fallon released another album, '' Órla Fallon: My Land'', which tied in with another PBS special. Links to audio clips found on Fallon's official website Both PBS specials were produced by The Elevation Group and

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...

. Another solo album, '' Lullaby Time'', was released in 2012.

Personal life

She has been married to John Comerford since 1997 and has a son named Freddie, who was born in 2012.

Discography

; Solo *'' The Water is Wide'' (2000 EURO) (2006 U.S.) *'' Distant Shore'' (September 2009) *''Music of Ireland: Welcome Home'' (March 2010) *''Winter, Fire & Snow: A Celtic Christmas Collection'' (September 2010) *''Órla Fallon's Celtic Christmas'' (November 2010) *''Órla Fallon: My Land'' (March 2011) *''Lullaby Time'' (2012) *''Sweet By and By'' (March 2017) *''A Winter's Tale'' (October 2019) *''Lore'' (July 2020) ; With Celtic Woman *'' Celtic Woman'' (March 2005) *'' Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration'' (October 2006) *'' Celtic Woman: A New Journey'' (January 2007) *'' Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey'' (October 2008) *'' Celtic Woman: The Best of Christmas'' (November 2017) ; With

*''Beautiful World'' (2009) ; With

*''

'' (2005)

References

External links

OrlaFallon.com
- Official website
Profile at CelticWoman.com
* ; Multimedia :
''Crossover''
- Jill Pasternak interview (18 March 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fallon, Orla 1974 births Alumni of Mater Dei Institute of Education Celtic Woman members Irish harpists Living people Musicians from County Wicklow Opera crossover singers Irish-language singers 21st-century Irish singers 21st-century Irish women singers