Liam Ó Maonlaí (born 7 November 1964 in

Monkstown, County Dublin Monkstown (), historically known as ''Carrickbrennan'' (), is a suburb on the southside, Dublin, southside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is on the coast, between Blackrock, Dublin, Blackrock an ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

) is an Irish musician best known as a member of Hothouse Flowers. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin.

Biography

He attended Scoil Lorcáin, Monkstown and Coláiste Eoin, 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 a ...

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 Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

, 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'') 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 (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

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

Kevin Shields Kevin Patrick Shields (born 21 May 1963) is an Irish musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, who achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine (band), My Bloody Valenti ...

and drummer

Colm Ó Cíosóig Colm Ó Cíosóig (; born 31 October 1964) is an Irish musician and songwriter, who achieved international fame as the drummer for the alternative rock band My Bloody Valentine. Their studio albums '' Isn't Anything'' (1988) and ''Loveless'' ...

. 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 in 2001. In 2004 he was a guest at the Barefoot College, located at

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. In 2005 he released a solo album entitled ''Rían'' 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 h ...

. The 2008 documentary '' Dambé: The Mali Project'' tells the story of his 3,000 mile cross-cultural musical adventure with Paddy Keenan and friends, and features performances from the '' Festival au Désert''. In 2022, Ó Maonlaí joined the Belgian music collective OOOTOKO after meeting violinist Damien Chierici through the project YULE. This collaboration featured singers Uxía, Joanne McIver, and Marthe Vassallo, along with musicians Damien Chierici, Didier Laloy, and Pascal Chardome.

Acting

* - Himself * '' 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 singer-songwriters Irish rock singers 20th-century Irish-language singers Musicians from County Dublin People educated at Coláiste Eoin Sean-nós singers The Complex (band) members Irish tin whistle players The Waterboys members 1980s in Irish music 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music