Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin is an Irish singer, songwriter, and academic writer from Ireland.Douglas Hyde Conference biography

Early life

Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin was born into an Irish-speaking household in

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

to Pádraig Ó hUallacháin and Eithne Devlin, from Cullyhanna, County Armagh. She is one of eight siblings, notably an elder sister of Eithne Ní Uallacháin (1957–1999). father, a teacher, writer and song collector collected older songs from the Oriel area and in Rannafast, and encouraged her and her siblings to sing.Arts Tonight Interview
at RTÉ Online Her family childhood was spent in Ballina, County Mayo; in Ramelton & Carrigart, County Donegal; and in Dundalk, County Louth. She attended St. Louis Secondary boarding school, Monaghan,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

before beginning a degree course at University College Dublin and

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

.. She received her doctorate in 2009 from the University of Ulster. She lived in Mullaghban, County Armagh, near her mother's native place of Cullyhanna, and now lives in Omeath County Louth. In 1977, Pádraigín was the first woman to read the news headlines in Irish at

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

, Ireland's national broadcaster. She also researched and presented numerous radio programmes in English and in Irish for

RTÉ Radio RTÉ Radio is a division and service of Irish public broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), which broadcasts four analogue channels and five digital channels across Ireland. Founded in January 1926 as 2RN, was the first broadcaster in ...

. She left RTÉ in 1980 to study for a master's degree in the University of Ulster and in 1984 began teaching 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. She left teaching in 1999 to become a full-time professional musician.

Career

1994–1997: First recordings

In 1994, Pádraigín recorded her first full-length album with producer/musician Garry Ó Briain. '' A Stór is a Stóirín'' was released on the

Gael Linn Gael Linn () is a non-profit and non-governmental organisation focused on the promotion of the Irish language and the arts. The organisation's funding includes government and lottery sources. History Gael Linn was founded in May 1953, followin ...

label and featured 36 songs for all ages.A Stór Is A Stóirín
at

Britain's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

commissioned music videos of a number of songs on the album for a series ''Rí Rá''. The videos later became regular features on

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

between 1996 and 1998. Pádraigín's composition ''Mullach a' tSí'' was recorded by

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...

on his 2012 album '' The Story of Light''. In 1995, Ní Uallacháin recorded her second album '' An Dara Craiceann: Beneath the Surface''. It featured unaccompanied sean-nós songs and traditional songs set to her new compositions, including a work by Irish poet Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill.An Dara Craiceann
/ref> Later that year, she composed new pieces for the soundtrack of

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speakin ...

's 1995 film Branwen. Pádraigín's third album, '' When I Was Young'', an album for children, was a collaboration between her, Garry Ó Briain and traditional singer Len Graham, which was released on the Gael Linn label in 1999 and later on Shanachie Records in the United States.

1999–2010: Oriel, A Hidden Ulster and Áilleacht

From 1997 to 2012 Ní Uallacháin was a regular performer with the Danish composer/musician

Palle Mikkelborg Palle Mikkelborg (born 6 March 1941) is a Danish jazz trumpet player, composer, arranger and record producer. He is self-taught on the trumpet, although he studied conducting at the Royal Music Conservatory in Copenhagen. He became a professio ...

and harpist Helen Davies. She is the vocalist on Mikkleborg's soundtrack for the 1998 Goethe film ''Light, Darkness and Colors''Light Darkness and Colors
documentary (1998) and on the title track of his album ''Song... Tread Lightly'' (2002). Her composition ''Don't give me the whole truth (Ná tar le hIomlán na Fírinne)'' is featured on Davies' 2002 album, ''Open The Door Softly''.Open the Door Softly
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

Between 2003 and 2005, Ní Uallacháin began intensive research on songs from her native Oriel and recorded an album of restored Oriel songs, '' An Dealg Óir''. Produced by Steve Cooney, it was released on Gael Linn in 2003 and features frequent collaborators

Liam O'Flynn Liam O'Flynn, Óg Flynn (, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish people, Irish Uilleann pipes, uilleann piper and Folk music of Ireland, Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn re ...

, Liam Ó Maonlaí Ódhrán Ó Casaide, Helen Davies, Máire Breatnach & Laoise Kelly. The song ''Éalaigh Liom'' (Elope with Me) was performed on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's Highland Sessions programme presented by Mary Ann Kennedy. Her book, '' A Hidden Ulster: People, songs and traditions of Oriel'' was published 2004 by Four Courts Press, and later republished on Ceoltaí Oirialla. ''A Hidden Ulster'' is a 540-page collection of rare songs, their histories, biographies of authors, collectors and scribes, and documentation of folk traditions in Oriel from the 17th century onwards.A Hidden Ulster
at

Four Courts Press Four Courts Press is an independent Irish academic publishing house, with its office at Malpas Street, Dublin 8, Ireland. Founded in 1970 by Michael Adams, who died in February 2009, its early publications were primarily theological, notably ...

A radio series, ''Songs from A Hidden Ulster'', was produced for

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 () is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for the station in 2010 w ...

, with further programmes around the book and its contents created for

, RTÉ1 and on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations cove ...

.Songs from a Hidden Ulster
''A Hidden Ulster'' was met with critical acclaim and featured in the

Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

as a Book of the Year 2004 and

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

Books of the Year 2004 list. After the book's publication in 2003, Pádraigín was awarded ''Gradam Shean-Nós Cois Life'' in 2003 for her contribution to the Irish song tradition, and became the first traditional artist to be awarded a ''Major Arts Award'' from the

Arts Council of Northern Ireland The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish language, Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots language, Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It ...

.Dr. Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin
, Seamus Heaney Centre In 2005, ''A Hidden Ulster'' was shortlisted for the 2005 Michaelis-Jena Ratcliff Prize in Folklore and Folklife. Following the publication, her work continued as the first woman to record an album of new compositions in Irish with '' Áilleacht (Beauty)''. The album was produced by long-term collaborator Steve Cooney and released in 2005. Collaborators Palle Mikkelborg, Helen Davies and da:Mikkel Nordsoe featured Ní Uallacháin's composition from the album, ''An Leannán (The Beloved)'' on ''Masters of the Irish Harp'' in 2011. As traditional singer in residence at the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at

Queen's University Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The university received its charter in 1845 as part of ...

, Pádraigín collaborated with

Colmcille Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

and ULTACH Trust in creating series of events based around the exhibition of ''An Leabhar Mór (The Great Book of Gaelic)'', which was being exhibited in the

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treasures ...

between October and November 2005. Her work and life was the subject of the documentary, ''Spiorad Saor'' on

RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...

in 2007, part of the ''Léargas'' series.Sé Mo LaochSpiorad Saor

2020 Ní Uallacháin received her doctorate from

Ulster University Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

in 2009.

2011–2020: Return to recording and Oriel Arts Project

In November 2011, Pádraigín released her first album on the Ceoltaí Éireann label, '' Songs of the Scribe'' with early Irish lyrics and translations set to her new compositions and accompanied by harpist Helen Davies. Ní Uallacháin collaborated with poets

Ciaran Carson Ciaran Gerard Carson ( Irish: ''Ciarán Gearóid Mac Carráin''; 9 October 1948 – 6 October 2019) was a Northern Ireland-born poet and novelist. Early life and education Ciaran Carson was born on 9 October 1948 in Belfast Belfast ...

and

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...

by setting to music song-poems from ancient Irish manuscripts, written by Irish

scribes A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of automatic printing. The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as secretarial and ...

and scribe-poets. To record the album, Pádraigín travelled to St. Gallen, Switzerland to read the Irish manuscripts. ''Songs of the Scribe'' was recorded in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

and remained on the Celtic Note album charts for seven months between March and September 2012.Irish Music Charts
at Irish Music magazine In 2014, Ní Uallacháin performed songs for the ''On Home Ground'' Seamus Heaney festival in

Magherafelt Magherafelt ( ; , ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 9,071 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is the biggest town in the south of the county an ...

. Pádraigín's third children's album, '' Let the Fairies In'', was released in September 2012 and was produced by Dónal O'Connor. In 2017, the Oriel Arts Project was launched. Funded by the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts". About It was established in 1951 by the government of Ireland, to encourage interest in Irish art ( ...

, it is a digital reclamation and restoration of a song and music tradition which had almost died out in Oriel, and where most of the song lyrics had lost their respective musics. Ní Uallacháin was author, editor and director or the project, and researched, edited texts and re-coupled of lyrics and music as part of the project and recorded the songs. New drone footage of the region was taken by Feilimí O'Connor, and video performances of the songs recorded by local and national singers. Sylvia Crawford contributed to sections on the harp tradition, with Darren Mag Aoidh and Dónal O'Connor contributing to the fiddle collections. To coincide with the project's launch, Pádraigín released '' Ceoltaí Oirialla'', a double album of Oriel songs. The recording is divided between a cappella and accompanied songs. Pádraigín's work was acknowledged at the national 2018 Gradam Ceoil TG4 awards at the

Waterfront Hall Belfast Waterfront is a multi-purpose conference and entertainment centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, designed by local architects' firm Robinson McIlwaine. The hall is located in Lanyon Place, the flagship development of the Laganside Corp ...

in Belfast. She received the ''Outstanding Contribution to Traditional Music'' award and performed ‘''Séamus Mac Murfaidh''’ (with her local protégés, Blaithín Mhic Cana and Piaras Ó Lorcáin), and her own composition, ‘''Gleann na nDeor''’ (with The Voice Squad) at the ceremony. Between 2015 and 2019, Ní Uallacháin was director of the annual '' Éigse Oirialla'' festival in Carlingford, County Louth. The programme consisted of concerts, lectures, readings and discussions on Oriel and the region's music. In 2019 a second documentary on her work was broadcast on TG4, "Sé Mo Laoch"

2024: Seven Daughters of the Sea

In 2022, she contributed a keening song to the soundtrack of John Connors' film ''The Black Guelph'', which details the generational abuse suffered by

Irish travellers Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs ( Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group originating in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

at the hands of the state and church.Oldenburg 2022: ‘The Black Guelph’ Wins Best Film

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

(2023) In January 2024, Ní Uallacháin released of her tenth studio album. '' Seven Daughters of the Sea''. Longstanding collaborators Dónal O'Connor and Steve Cooney returned respectively as producer and guitarist. The album also sees Ní Uallacháin collaborate again with guitarist

on the title track, and with Indian classical flautist Rajat Prasanna. It also features Fin Moore on pipes and Macdara ó Graham on vocal drones and overtones. 2025: Research & Recordings Her research continues on the songs of County Leitrim collected by William Forde in the nineteenth century, and further research and recordings on the songs and singers of Omeath, County Louth, due for publication 2026/27. She is also collaborating with Len Graham on the editing of his song collection and field recordings which is held in The Traditional Music Archives in Dublin.

Artistry

Ní Uallacháin has collaborated throughout her career, particularly with Garry Ó Biain, Steve Cooney, Dónal O'Connor, Helen Davies and Máire Breatnach. She has also composed settings for numerous poems by contemporary Irish poets Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Biddy Jenkinson, Ciaran Carson and Seamus Heaney, aside from her settings of poetry by

William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...

and early Irish & bardic poems. Ní Uallacháin's albums are diverse in genre. She has recorded albums of

children's music Children's music or kids' music is music composed and performed for children. In European-influenced contexts this means music, usually songs, written specifically for a juvenile audience. The composers are usually adults. Children's music has hi ...

, new composition in, or set to words in, Irish, English, old Irish and Scottish Gaelic. She has recorded contemporary and sean-nós albums, both with and without accompaniment and has incorporated

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek language, Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed main ...

and Indian chant into other recordings, most notably ''Áilleacht'' and ''Songs of the Scribe''. Pádraigín's song compositions have been recorded by

Dolores Keane Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) is an Irish folk singer. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan following which she pursued a solo recording and touring career. Background Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near ...

, Muireann Nic Amhlaoibh, Danú,

The Black Family The Black Family is a professional wrestling face / tecnico stable that has been working in AAA since 2000. Originally a heel / rudo stable, The Black Family currently consists of original member Dark Cuervo as well as the later additions of ...

, Eithne Ní Uallacháin, Len Graham, Skylark, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, Altan, Steve Vai, Nuala Kennedy, Cathie Ryan and Hal Leonard Concert Band. She studied chant with Jill Purce in the United Kingdom, Ritwik Sanyal in India, Silvia Nakkach in Auroville, India.

Awards and recognition

*2003 – Gradam Shean-nós Cois Life. *2004 – Major Arts Award,

and the Cultural Relations Commission (the first traditional musician to receive the award). *2004 – Book of the Year,

for '' A Hidden Ulster: people, songs and traditions of Oriel'' *2004 – Irish Times Book of the Year,

for ''A Hidden Ulster'' *2005 – Michaelis-Jena Ratcliff Prize shortlist *2009 – Doctorate,

*2018 – Outstanding Contribution to Traditional Music, Gradam Ceoil TG4. *2018 – Mná an Mhisnigh (Women of Courage) Award *2018 – Bliain na Gaeilge,

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 ...

*2018 – Cultural Achievement Award, Mullaghbawn GAA *2018 – Civic Award,

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (Irish language, Irish: ''Comhairle Ceantair an Iúir, Mhúrn agus an Dúin'') is a local authority in Northern Ireland that was established on 1 April 2015. It replaces Down District Council and Newry and ...

(for ‘''contribution to local culture''’) *2018 – Creative Arts Award, Fiddler's Green Festival

Residencies

*2005 – 2013 Traditional Singer in Residence, Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry at Queens University Belfast (appointment) *

Dundalk Institute of Technology Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT; ) is an institute of technology, located in Dundalk, Ireland. Established as the Dundalk Regional Technical College, students were first enrolled in the college in 1971 and it was later re-defined as an i ...

(directorship of Dr. Eilish Farrell) *The Glens Arts Centre, Manorhamilton, County Leitrim. *Fellowship,

Royal Literary Fund The Royal Literary Fund (RLF) is a benevolent fund that gives assistance to published British writers in financial difficulties. Founded in 1790, and granted a royal charter in 1818, the Fund has helped an extensive roll of authors through its lon ...

based at

St Mary's University College, Belfast St Mary's University College is a university college in Belfast, Northern Ireland. History The origins of the College can be traced back to 1900 when the Dominican Sisters opened St Mary’s Training College on the present Falls Road campus with ...

and Queens University Belfast (first recipient of an Irish language fellowship)

Personal life

Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin has two sons, Eoghan Graham an
Macdara Jewellery
She is a sister of singer Eithne Ní Uallacháin and aunt to Dónal O'Connor (musician and producer), film director Feilimí O'Connor and Uilleann piper Finnian Ó Connor.

Discography

*1994 – '' A Stór Is A Stóirín'' *1995 – '' An Dara Craiceann'' *1997 – '' When I Was Young'' *1999 – '' An Irish Lullaby'' *2002 – '' An Dealg Óir'' *2005 – '' Áilleacht'' *2011 – '' Songs of the Scribe'' *2012 – '' LET THE FAIRIES IN'' *2017 – '' Ceoltaí Oirialla'' *2024 – '' Seven Daughters of the Sea''

Bibliography

*2003 – Ní Uallacháin, Pádraigín, '' A Hidden Ulster: People, songs and traditions of Oriel'', Four Courts Press

Footnotes

External links

Official websiteEditor/Author Oriel Arts Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ni Uallachain, Padraigin 20th-century Irish women singers 21st-century Irish women singers Irish folk singers 21st-century Irish-language singers Irish-language writers Irish schoolteachers Living people Musicians from County Armagh People from County Louth Year of birth missing (living people) 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music