Dermot O'Brien, singer, accordionist, songwriter, arranger, producer and sportsman, has performed in every major theatre in England, Ireland and Scotland including several top of the bill appearances at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

In the middle and late sixties, O'Brien and his band were one of the biggest draws in Ireland, and were featured on records, radio and numerous TV shows. They toured regularly in England, Scotland, the United States, Canada, Germany and even in the United Arab Emirates, where they appeared for many years. In Scotland, where O'Brien still tours, he is known as the "King of the Accordion."

He has had many hit singles, such as "The Galway Shawl," "The Old Claddagh Ring," "Spancil Hill," "Dublin '62" and more, including many instrumental hits. His biggest record success was "The Merry Ploughboy," which went straight to #1 on the Irish charts.

Turlough O'Carolan the blind harper, composer and poet was born in Nobber, Co Meath in 1670. When his family were evicted from their small holding in Nobber they moved to north Roscommon, O'Carelan found a patron in Maire Mac Dermott Roe of Ballyfarnon. When he lost his sight, she had him taught to play the harp and set him on his travels. When O'Carolan died at the house of his patron in 1738, his former music-pupil Charles O Coner recorded his passing in sadness. "Saturday, the 25th day of March, 1738. Turlough O'Carolan, the wise master and chief musician of the whole of Ireland, died today and was buried in the O'Duignan's church of Kilronan, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. May his soul find mercy, for he was a moral and religious man."


Maura O'Connell began her career working with Mike Hanrahan before becoming a full-time member of Stockton's Wing and then De Dannan. However, after that band had enjoyed substantial success with Star Spangled Molly, O'Connell relocated to Nashville in 1985 to launch her solo career. On arrival she quickly formed a musical partnership with Jerry Douglas, who has been a constant companion throughout her solo work. A succession of albums followed, before she joined Rykodisc Records in 1996 for the release of Stories. This included material drawn from established and disparate sources such as Shawn Colvin ("Shotgun Down The Avalanche"), Paul Brady ("Stories"), Hal Ketchum ("Ordinary Day") and MaryChapin Carpenter ("Wall Around Your Heart"). There was also a Beatles song, "If I Fell", to further demonstrate O'Connell's diversity and her move away from a straightforward country or folk heritage. Wandering Home marked a return to her Irish folk roots, and saw O'Connell covering a diverse range of standards including "West Coast Of Glare" and "Down By The Sally Gardens."


Sinead endured a turbulent youth and diagnoses of "behavioral problems which included shoplifting and being expelled from school. O'Connor signed her first record deal with Ensign Records in 1985. Early 1988 saw "Mandinka" reach the UK Top 20. Although two subsequent singles failed to chart, the album The Lion And The Cobra sold well on the strength of "Mandinka", and her media profile was bolstered by a series of highly opinionated interviews. To promote her second solo album, O'Connor chose the Prince-written "Nothing Compares 2 U," it transfured audiences worldwide and topped the UK and US singles chart.

The second album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, was also a transatlantic #1. Her 1990 tour of the USA prompted the first stirrings of a backlash. At the Garden State Arts Centre in New Jersey she refused to go on stage after "The Star Spangled Banner" was played. Her third album, 1992's Am I Not Your Girl? received mixed reviews. Further controversy ensued later in the year when O'Connor tore up a photograph of the Pope on U.S. television.

1994's Univwsal Mother found only marginal success compared to her previous efforts, leading to the suspicion that perhaps her sermonizing had begun to cloud the music. In 1997, she turned her hand to acting, ironically, as an Irish Virgin Mary in NeilJordan's The Butcher Boy. and released the low-key Gospel Gale EP. In April 1999, she was ordained as a Catholic priest in an unoffidal ceremony in Lourdes, France. The new Mother Bernadette Marie was immediately denounced by the Vatican.

Born Raymond O'Sullivan in 1946 in Waterford. O'Sullivan's family moved to Swindon, England, during his childhood and attended art college there. His hitmaking potential was undeniable. Early UK successes included "We Will," "No Matter How I Try" and 'Alone Again (Naturally)." Any suspicions that O'Sullivan's charm was largely parochial were dashed when the latter single broke through in America, peaking at #1 and selling over a million copies. The debut album, Himsel~ was also highly accomplished and included the radio favorite "Matrimony," which would have provided a sizeable hit if released as a single. O'Sullivan went on to become one of the biggest-selling artists of 1972. That year he enjoyed two consecutive UK #1's with "Clair" and "Get Down." These singles also reached the U.S. Top to. O'Sullivan's second album, Bacle To Front, reached #1 in the UK and for a time, he seemed likely to rival and even surpass Elton John's success.


Daniel O'Donnell. is without doubt the biggest-selling act in history in the musical genre known as "Country 'n' Irish". O'Donnell first emerged in the UK in 1985, although by this point he was already popular in Ireland. His first attempts at singing came when he worked as a backing vocalist in the band that backed his sister, folk/ country singer Marge, during the early '80s, and his popularity among the female audiences quickly increased. After a handful of early recordings (later released after he came to fame as The Boy From Donegal, he signed to Ritz Records, an Irish label based in London, and Two Sides Of Daniel O'Donnell was released in 1985. It was promoted by the first in a continuing series of nationwide UK tours that attracted capacity audiences. In 1986, came a second O'Donnell release, I Need you, which the following March became his first album to reach the UK country charts. That year's album Don't Forget To Remember was O'Donnell's first to enter the UK country chart at #1, a feat he repeated with his five subsequent original albums.


Sean O'Riada was born in Cork City in 1931. One of the great figureheads in European nationalistic music, he was brought up in Bruff, Co. Limerick and educated at University College, Cork (B. Mus. degree 1952). Appointed Assistant Director of Music on Radio Eireann in 1952, he stayed there until 1955 when he took over as the musical director in the famed Abbey Theatre. He stayed with the Abbey until 1962, composing the score for the tilm Mise Fire in 1960 and, most famously, the score for the film version of The Playboy of the Western World in 1963. This last piece made him a household name in his homeland. He also composed "Mna na h'Eireann" ("The Women of Ireland") which forever proved the musical eloquence of his writing.

He assembled the Ceoltoiri Chualann in the late 1950s, a team of musicians dedicated to musical virtuosity and a sense of Irish tradition. This team recorded albums such as Reacaireacht an Riadalgh, The Playboy of the Western World, Ceol na nUasal, O RiaAa sa Gaiety (a live album recorded at the Gaiety Theatre in 1969) which included "The Women of Ireland". "The Women of Ireland" became a sort of musical shorthand motif for Ireland, being used extensively in film soundtracks such as Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, radio plays such as Alan Berrie's The Monument, and television documentaries; it was also covered by Rate Bush.

The Ceoltoiri Chualann team would later become The Chieftains under piper Paddy Moloney and achieve international acclaim.

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