Liam Ó Maonlaí (born 7 November 1964 in Monkstown,

County Dublin "Action to match our speech" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg , map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...

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 ...

) is an Irish musician best known as a member of

Hothouse Flowers Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock band that combine traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel, and rock. Formed in 1985 in Dublin, they started as street performers. Their first album, ''People'' (1988), was the most successf ...

. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate

Fiachna Ó Braonáin Fiachna Ó Braonáin (born 27 November 1965) plays the guitar and sings vocals with the Irish band Hothouse Flowers. Born in Dublin, he received his school education at Scoil Lorcáin and Coláiste Eoin. The Hothouse Flowers were founded as a ...

Biography

He attended

Scoil Lorcáin Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' ( gle, Carraig Bhraonáin), is a suburb in south Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is on the coast, between Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American multi-nat ...

and

Coláiste Eoin Coláiste Eoin is a Catholic voluntary secondary (Irish language school) for boys, under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, in Booterstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It has hurling and Gaelic football teams, traditional Irish m ...

, which is a

Gaelscoil A Gaelscoil (; plural: ''Gaelscoileanna'') is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna at primary an ...

on Dublin's southside, although he credits his father as being the main influence for his love of 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 ...

, of which he is a fluent speaker. He won an under-18 all-Ireland award for his skills on the

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 oth ...

. Ó Maonlai first formed a band called The Complex with childhood friend

Kevin Shields Kevin Patrick Shields (born 21 May 1963) is an American-born Irish musician, singer-songwriter, composer, and producer, best known as the vocalist and guitarist of the band My Bloody Valentine. They became influential on the evolution of alter ...

and drummer

Colm Ó Cíosóig Colm Ó Cíosóig (; born 31 October 1964) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer for the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine, of which he was a founding member. Biography My Bloody Valentine Originally formed in 1983, My Blood ...

. After Liam left to form the Hothouse Flowers in 1984, Shields and Ó Cíosóig were joined by vocalist Dave Conway and keyboardist Tina (who used no surname), and renamed themselves My Bloody Valentine, taking their name from a low-budget horror film. Ó Maonlaí is also an active member of the Nuclear Free Future movement and contributed to the hosting of events in Carnsore and in

Wexford Town Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

in 2001. In 2004 he was a guest at the

Barefoot College Barefoot College, previously known as the Social Work and Research Centre ("SWRC") is a voluntary organisation working in the fields of education, skill development, health, drinking water, women empowerment and electrification through solar po ...

, located at

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In 2005 he released a solo album entitled ''Rian'' which is a collection of tunes and songs in Irish. He performed in the 2009 Dublin to Gaza

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

. The 2008 documentary '' Dambé: The Mali Project'' tells the story of his 3,000 mile cross-cultural musical adventure with

Paddy Keenan Paddy Keenan (born 30 January 1950) is an Irish player of the uilleann pipes who first gained fame as a founding member of The Bothy Band. Since that group's dissolution in the late 1970s, Keenan has released a number of solo and collaborati ...

and friends, and features performances from the ''

Festival au Désert The Festival au désert (Festival in the Desert) was an annual concert in Mali, showcasing traditional Tuareg music as well as music from around the world between 2001 and 2012. It was founded and directed by Manny Ansar, and attracted thousand ...

''.

Acting

* '' I Could Read the Sky'' (1999) – Joe * ''Timbuktu'' (2004) – ConorTimbuktu (2004)
/ref> * ''The Busker'' (2006) – Patrick O'Mallie * '' Dambé: The Mali Project'' (2008), (documentary)

Discography

* ''Rian'' (2005) * ''To Be Touched'' (2009)

Guest singles

References

External links

Liam Ó Maonlaí websiteHothouse Flowers websiteLiam Ó Maonlaí information
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Omaonlai, Liam 1964 births Living people ALT (band) members Bodhrán players Hothouse Flowers members Irish male singer-songwriters Irish rock singers Irish-language singers Musicians from County Dublin People educated at Coláiste Eoin Sean-nós singers The Complex (band) members