Growing up on the west coast of Ireland, Keane was brought up from the age of four by her two aunts, the respected singers - Rita and Sarah Keane. Following several appearances on Irish radio, Keane joined the formative line-up of the traditional folk group De Dannan, appearing on their 1975 debut and joining them on tour.

Her first solo album, There Was A Maid, received a gold disc, while many albums later, 1990's Lion In A Cage, featured songs by contemporary songwriters Chris Rea, Paul Brady and Kieran Halpin. Keane participated in the television series Bringing It All Back Home, in 1991, performing with Mary Black and Emmylou Harris. She also appeared on the following year's A WomanS Heart. Her next studio album, Solid Grotmd, featured her brother, flautist Sean Keane.

Peadar Kearney, the maternal uncle of writer Brendan Behan, was born and educated in Dublin where he worked as a laborer while composing songs, poetry and plays. Kearney was working backstage at the Abbey Theatre when he composed the lyrics of "Amhran na bhFiann" / "The Soldier's Song" and, together with Patrick Heeny, set it to music. The song was first published in Irish Freedom in 1912 and quickly became the most popular of the Irish Volunteer's marching songs. In 1926 "Amhran na bhFiann" / "The Soldier's Song" was adopted as the National Anthem of Ireland.


Within five years of Boyzone's debut Irish hit, a cover version of the Detroit Spinners' "Working My Way Back To You," Keating had established himself as a successful television presenter, entrepreneur and solo artist. He broke into television presenting The Eurovision Song Contest and Miss World, before landing a prime-time slot in 1999 as host of the UK talent show Get Your Act Together. At the same time, Keating was preparing to establish himself as a solo artist, debuting with a cover version of Keith Whitley's country hit "When You Say Nothing At All." Taken from the soundtrack of the hit movie Notting Hill, the song raced to the top of the UK singles chart. Further solo success followed a year later with the chart-topping "Life Is A Rollercoaster. Both hits were included on his debut Ronan, which also featured contributions from Brian Adams and Barry Gibb The follow-up, Destination, included the UK chart-topper "If Tomorrow Never Comes." Keating's most prominent success is as co-manager of Irish boy band, Westlife, who in a remarkably short space of time have enjoyed a phenomenal chart run which easily surpasses Boyzone. Keating has also published his autobiography, a remarkable feat considering he had only just turned 23 when it was shooting to the top of the bestsellers list.


Born in 1966, one of six children in the Kennedy dan, and brought up on the Falls Road in Belfast, Brian discovered his voice when he found he could repeat a note pitch perfect in music class at school, and could harmonize along with the radio. Some years later he found himself in the enviable position of having three albums in the Top 30 of the Irish album charts simultaneously. Performing live has always been at the very core of Brian's success as a singer and musician, a fact not overlooked by Van Morrison who, on hearing Brian's voice, immediately approached him to perform as part of his Blues and Soul Revue which traveled the globe to critical acclaim, recorded and subsequently released the album One Night In San Francisco. In addition to Van Morrison, Brian has also toured with The Corrs and Tina Turner among others and played to capacity crowds with his solo show in Ireland, England, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.


Kila is rooted in a secondary-school band formed by the O'Snodaigh brothers, Colm (flute, whistles, vocals, saxophone, percussion), Ronan (vocals, bodhran, guitar, percussion), and Rossa (bouzouki, bodhran, didgeridoo, mandolin, djembe). The band's second set of brothers, Lance Hogan (guitars, hammer dulcimer, vocals, percussion) and Brian Hogan (bass, vocal, percussion, guitar), joined around 1995 when Lance produced Kila's Mind the Gaap, their first U.S.-released album. Other members include Dee Armstrong (fiddle, viola, accordion, vocals, percussion) and Eoin Dillon (uilleann pipes, whistles, vocals, percussion).


This singer-songwriter grew up surrounded by music, with his father and uncles forming a successful touring folk group. Kitt first began performing live sets while studying at Trinity College, Dublin, where he completed a postgraduate course in music technology. He recorded and mixed the songs for his debut release on a digital eight-track in his bedroom. "Small Moments" was released in 1999, by which time Kitt had already begun working on his debut album. Released on the Bianco y Negro imprint inpne zool, The Big Romance retained all of the charm of the debut, with "Song From Hope Street (Brooklyn, N.Y.)" and "What I Ask" among the stand-out tracks.

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