Róisín Elsafty (born in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

, Ireland) is a singer in the sean-nós tradition. She is a native speaker of Irish. She comes from a musical family, being the daughter of

Treasa Ní Cheannabháin Treasa Ní Cheannabháin (born 1953) is a notable Irish singer in the sean-nós tradition. She was born in Cill Chiaráin in Carna, Conamara, an Irish-speaking area. In 1996 Treasa and daughter Róisín Elsafty released an album on the French ...

, one of the most admired singers of the region, and having sisters, including

Naisrín Elsafty Naisrín Elsafty (born 1989) is an Irish-Egyptian singer and surgeon. She is notable as a distinguished exponent of sean-nós singing, an unaccompanied and heavily ornamented style characteristic of the Irish-speaking area where she grew up. Ea ...

, who are also performers. Her stepfather, Saber Elsafty, is Egyptian.

Musical career

Róisín made her first recording with her mother in 1996 with ''L'art du sean-nós'' for the French label Buda Musique and has appeared on several other albums. Róisín has performed with

Dónal Lunny Dónal Lunny (born 10 March 1947) is an Irish folk musician and producer. He plays guitar and bouzouki, as well as keyboards and bodhrán. As a founding member of popular bands Planxty, The Bothy Band, Moving Hearts, Coolfin, Mozaik, LAPD ...

and accordion player Máirtín O’Connor at the Konzerthaus Großer Saal, Vienna and at the ESB Ceol Festival at the National Concert Hall,

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 ...

. She has also performed as part of The Irish Consort with tenor John Elwes, Reiko Ichise on bass viol and Siobhán Armstrong playing the traditional wire-strung Irish

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

and the European Renaissance harp. In 2007 she released ''Má bhíonn tú liom Bí liom'' (If you are with me, truly be with me), a CD containing both traditional and new material.''Má bhíonn tú liom Bí liom: New and Traditional Songs from Connemara''. Vertical Records VERTCD080 (2007). This was produced by Dónal Lunny and features, among others, accordionist Máirtín O’Connor,

Ronan Browne Ronan Browne is an Irish musician and composer who plays the Irish pipes. Early years Browne was born in Dublin to psychiatrist Ivor Browne and Orla Kiernan. His family has some history in music, with his maternal grandmother being Irish fol ...

on several instruments, and harper Siobhán Armstrong. In 2010, she won an IMA award for Best Sean Nós singer. Róisín and her family have links with the Palestine solidarity movement in Ireland, and she has recorded a song called "An Phailistín" (Palestine) in Irish and Arabic in support of Palestinian civil rights.

Discography

Solo albums

* 2007 – ''Má bhíonn tú liom Bí liom''

Appearances/Collaborations

* 2005 – ''Musique du monde: Irlande – L'art du Sean-Nos'' (with

)

TV

* 2005 – ''Other Voices: Songs from a Room'' – episode 13, as herself.

References

Links

Róisín Elsafty's site

Tour dates for Róisín Elsafty, free music, photographs and videos.
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elsafty, Roisin 20th-century Irish women singers 21st-century Irish women singers Irish-language singers Irish people of Egyptian descent Living people Sean-nós singers Year of birth missing (living people) People of Connemara