Máire McDonnell-Garvey (10 July 1927 – 29 August 2009) was a traditional Irish musician and writer.

Biography

Máire McDonnell was born on 10 July 1927 in Tobracken,

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

to James McDonnell and Annie Theresa Talbot. McDonnell-Garvey was one of three children. Her mother died while she was doing her Leaving Certificate. McDonnell-Garvey went to school in the Sisters of Charity in Ballaghadereen. McDonnell-Garvey was taught the violin by PJ Giblin. McDonnell-Garvey married Bob Garvey in 1948 and they moved to

Walkinstown Walkinstown () is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland, six kilometres southwest of the city centre. It is surrounded by Drimnagh to the north, Crumlin, Dublin, Crumlin to the east, Greenhills, Dublin, Greenhills to the south, and Ballymount, Bluebel ...

, Dublin. The couple had five children. McDonnell-Garvey spent twenty five years teaching night classes for

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

. She was secretary of the Dublin County Board of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann and spent time at the St Mary's Music Club on Church Street, Dublin. In the 1940s McDonnell-Garvey played with the ''Aiséirigh Céilí Band''. In the 1960s she played with ''Eamonn Ceannt Céilí Band''. McDonnell-Garvey, Dónal Ó hÉalaí and Ciaráin Ó Rathallaigh founded the traditional music group, ''Comhrá na dTonn''. She also worked with them to collect and research Irish music which lead to her first book ''Mid-Connaught – The Ancient Territory of Sliabh Lugha'' about Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo and Galway. McDonnell-Garvey also wrote two other publications; ''A Traditional Music Journey 1600 – 2000'' and ''Under the Shadow of the Summerhills''. McDonnell-Garvey went back to college as a mature student and graduated from

University College Dublin University College Dublin (), commonly referred to as UCD, is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 38,417 students, it is Ireland's largest ...

with a B.A in Irish, history and English in 1970. When she completed the degree she went on to finish a Higher Diploma in Education. McDonnell-Garvey then taught in Ardscoil Éanna and Collinstown Park Community College. She performed on a number of albums ''The Windy Turn'' and ''Whispering Strains of the Past''. McDonnell-Garvey made sure her teacher, PJ Giblin, music was reissued on ''The Giblin Legacy''. McDonnell-Garvey was awarded a Gradam award for her lifetime contribution to traditional Irish music by the Douglas Hyde Summer School in 2007. She died in Dublin on 29 August 2009.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonnell-Garvey, Máire 1927 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Irish musicians 20th-century Irish women musicians 20th-century Irish writers 20th-century Irish women writers Musicians from County Roscommon People from Ballaghaderreen Alumni of University College Dublin