Eithne Ní Uallacháin (1 January 1957 – 19 May 1999) was an Irish singer, songwriter, and former teacher from County Louth, Ireland.

Early life

Eithne was born in an Irish-speaking household to Pádraig Ó hUallacháin (1912-1974) and Eithne Bean Uí Uallacháin (née Ní Dhoibhlín).Eithne Ní Uallacháin
entry on Ancestry.com Her father, a teacher, writer and song collector published older songs from the Oriel area in local publications, and encouraged Eithne and her siblings to sing.Oidhreacht Eithne a Ceiliúradh ar albam nua
at Tuairisc.ie While at the University of Ulster in Coleraine, Eithne met fellow song enthusiasts such as Brian Mullen and Gary Hastings, with whom she would perform. Ní Uallacháin would visit home at weekends and in search of sessions would make contact with Gerry O'Connor,Rónán Beo@3
interview with Dónal O'Connor at RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta.
Interview segment
' whom she would marry in 1978.Eithne and Gerry O'Connor's wedding
Bríd-a-Crinn, 1978 (family archive)

Career

1983–1990: Cosa Gan Bhróga and teaching

Eithne became a teacher in the 1980s at Gaelscoil Dhún Dealgan, an Irish-medium primary school in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, County Louth. In 1986, she collaborated with husband Gerry and

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

flute player Desi Wilkinson in a recording for release on the Gael Linn label. ' Cosa Gan Bhróga' was engineered by Nicky Ryan and released in 1987. The album was subsequently remastered and reissued in 2013 by Gael Linn.Cosa Gan Bhróga
at Siopa Ghael LinnReissue of 'Cosa gan Bhróga' by Eithne Ní Uallacháin, Gerry O'Connor and Desi Wilkinson
— The Journal of Music While performing in La Chapelle-Neuve, Côtes-d'Armor,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Eithne met Gilles le Bigot and approached him to record on her next album with Gerry.

1991–1998: Lá Lugh

In 1991, Ní Uallacháin and O'Connor released their first album as a duo. ' Lá Lugh' (, inspired by Irish

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

Lugh Lámhfhada) was released on Claddagh Records ().Lá Lugh
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Eithne focused on songs from the Oriel region, scribed by collectors such as Lorcán Ó Muirí and Enrí Ó Muirgheasa and repertoire gathered from Antrim singer Len Graham, Armagh singer Sarah Makem and Donegal Gaeltacht singer Róise Bean Uí Ghrianna.Lá Lugh
at Claddagh Records The album was recorded in Randalstown,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

by Shaun 'Mudd' Wallace, who would go on to engineer all of Eithne's subsequent recordings. ''Lá Lugh'' also saw the Eithne compose melodies to old Irish traditional songs. In 1993, she performed with Dan Ar Braz, and toured with Capercaillie in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Subsequent to the release of ''Lá Lugh'', Eithne and Gerry formed a group of the same name. In 1995, the duo began recording their second album. The album was again recorded in Shaun 'Mudd' Wallace's Homestead Studios and focused on Eithne's songwriting and Gerry's fiddle playing. '' Brighid's Kiss'' was released under their own Lughnasa Music label that same year, featuring many of the same musicians as their previous album, along with two of their children, Dónal and Siubhán.Brighid's Kiss
at Eithne Ní Uallacháin website The album was launched by Lá Lugh at The Great Northern Brewery, Dundalk. Eithne's songs ''Brighid's Kiss'' and ''Tá Sé Ina Lá'' (inspired by the movement towards a Northern Ireland peace process) were well-received (and went on to be covered by numerous artists. See Artistry),Tá Sé 'na Lá
at

allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

Brighid's Kiss (song)
at

and the two began television appearances and European tours with their extended band. ''Brighid's Kiss'' was awarded Album Of The Year by Irish Music Magazine in 1996.Fiddler Magazine
/ref> ''Brighid's Kiss'' brought Lá Lugh to the attention of

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

, who signed the duo to the label. Before recording their next album, Lá Lugh toured throughout the European continent, including

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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, and the

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.Lá Lugh tour posters
at Eithne Ní Uallacháin's website In 1998, Lá Lugh released Senex Puer, a new studio album with a number of re-recordings of Eithne's songs from ''Brighid's Kiss''. The album was recorded with the same musicians as ''Brighid's Kiss'', again at Wallace's studio in Randalstown.Senex Puer
at Eithne Ní Uallacháin's websiteSenex Puer
at

1998–present: Bilingua

In 1998, Eithne returned to Shaun 'Mudd' Wallace's Homestead studios to record a solo album. Ní Uallacháin's vocals were completed and much of the music was arranged, but the album was not released. Eithne took her own life 19 May 1999, following several bouts of illness. Eithne's grieving husband, Gerry O'Connor, could not return to work on the album and focused instead on raising his children and on touring to support the family. Their son, Dónal, took residence at Wallace's studio as an assistant engineer, and during times when the studio was not booked worked with Wallace on the album. Due to contractual issues with the original record label, the album was not released until 2014, 15 years after its recording and 14 years after mixing and mastering had ended. The album was titled '' Bilingua'', named after its title track. ''Bilingua'' was released with Gael Linn, who released Eithne's first album, ''Cosa Gan Bhróga''.Bilingua
at Siopa Ghael Linn In preparation for its release, tributes were written by Capercaillie's Karen Matheson, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Pauline Scanlon, Mary Black and Eithne's family and friends. Early reception to the album was overwhelmingly positive, with reviews appearing in English, Irish, FrenchTRAD Magazine review ‘Bilingua’ en français
/ref> and Breton. ''Bilingua'' was launched by Fintan Vallely at Odessa Club in Dame Court,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 3 December 2014.Launch of 'Bilingua' by Eithne Ní Uallacháin
at The Journal of Music

Artistry

Eithne was known for her singing and flute playing and inspired a number of singers and musicians. On the release of ''Bilingua'', tributes were sent by Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Karen Matheson, Maighread Ní Dhomhnaill, Pauline Scanlon, Mary Black and Irish artist Declan O'Mahony.Reflections
at Eithne Ní Uallacháin's website

Personal life

Eithne married fiddle player Gerry O'Connor in 1978. Together, they had four children, Dónal, Siubhán, Feilimí and Finnian. Eithne was a sister of singer and scholar Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin.

Discography

* 2014 — Bilingua * 1998 — Senex Puer * 1996 — Brighid's Kiss * 1992 — Lá Lugh * 1987 — Cosa Gan Bhróga

Footnotes

External links

Official website

Official Facebook page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Uallachain, Eithne 1957 births 1999 suicides Suicides in Ireland Irish folk singers Irish-language singers Musicians from County Louth 20th-century Irish women singers People from Ballina, County Mayo 1999 deaths Musicians from County Mayo