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William Michael Joseph Whelan is an Irish composer and musician. He is best known for composing a piece for the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. The result, "Riverdance", was a seven-minute piece of original music accompanying a new take on traditional Irish dancing that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish music and dance. The corresponding soundtrack album earned him a Grammy. "Riverdance" was released as a single in 1994, credited to "Bill Whelan and Anúna featuring the RTÉ Concert Orchestra". It reached number one in Ireland for 18 weeks and number nine in the UK. The album of the same title reached number 31 in the album charts in 1995.
Riverdance is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean Butler, Michael Flatley and the vocal ensemble Anúna. Shortly afterwards, husband and wife production team John McColgan and Moya Doherty expanded it into a stage show, which opened in Dublin on 9 February 1995. As of 2023, the show continues to tour the world.
Karen Matheson OBE is a Scottish folk singer who frequently sings in Gaelic. She is the lead singer of the group Capercaillie and was a member of Dan Ar Braz's group L'Héritage des Celtes, with whom she often sang lead vocals, either alone or with Elaine Morgan. She and Morgan sang together on the Breton language song "Diwanit Bugale", the French entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. She made a cameo appearance in the 1995 movie Rob Roy singing the song "Ailein duinn".
Anúna is a vocal ensemble formed in Ireland in 1987 by Irish composer Michael McGlynn under the name An Uaithne. Taking the current name in 1991, the group has recorded 18 albums and achieved a high level of international success, including a significant role in Riverdance from 1994 to 1996. Almost all of their repertoire is composed or arranged by McGlynn. Despite having been based in Ireland since their foundation and providing training to many Irish singers, McGlynn announced in December 2022 that the group would cease public performance in Ireland, while continuing in Northern Ireland and beyond.
Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble. Formed in 2004 for a one-time event held in Dublin, Ireland, they started touring internationally as a group after multiple airings on PBS helped boost the group's popularity.
Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, mononymously known as Méav, is an Irish singer, songwriter and recording artist specialising in the traditional music of her homeland. She was one of the original soloists in the musical ensemble Celtic Woman, which has sold over six million albums. Her solo albums have reached the Billboard World Music Top 10. She sings in multiple languages: English, Irish, French, Latin, Italian and German.
Máire Breatnach is an Irish fiddle, violin and viola player. She also sings in Irish on some of her albums. Since the early 1990s, she has recorded five solo albums, participated in many collaborations, and developed didactic material for children, mostly in Irish.
Lisa Kelly is an Irish singer of both classical and Celtic music and a voice teacher. She has taken part in many musical theatre productions and concerts, and is a founding and former member of the musical group Celtic Woman.
Chloë Agnew is an Irish singer, best known for being an original and former member of the Celtic music group Celtic Woman.
Deirdre Gilsenan is an Irish singer who has toured with a variety of Celtic music groups, such as Anúna, Celtic Thunder and Celtic Woman. She is better known by the stage name Deirdre Shannon.
Órlagh Fallon, professionally known as Órla Fallon, is an Irish singer, songwriter and former member of the group Celtic Woman and the chamber choir Anúna.
Eimear Mary Rose Quinn is an Irish singer and composer. She is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "The Voice". Since then she has toured and performed extensively internationally and has released four albums of her work, the most recent being Ériu, recorded with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and released in 2020.
Celtic Thunder is an Irish singing group and stage show known for its eclectic, theatrical style show. The group is backed by the Celtic Thunder Band on their concert tours, and their live shows are known for the use of dramatic set pieces, visual effects, and highly choreographed staging.
Lynn Hilary is an Irish singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has also performed as a featured soprano soloist in the all-female ensemble Celtic Woman.
Alexandria Sharpe is an Irish soprano singer and actress mostly known for her live roles in London's West End and on the Irish stage. In the United States she is best known as one of the former members of Celtic Woman from 2008 to 2010.
Joanne Doyle is a former professional Irish dancer who is most famous for her lead role in Riverdance. In her 10 years with Riverdance, Doyle became the longest-serving lead in the show's history and danced in over 2,500 performances.
Éabha McMahon is a contralto Irish singer and a former member of the ensemble Celtic Woman. In 2020 she began recording music under the name AVA.
Rebecca Winckworth is an Irish singer. She was a member of the choral group Anúna, with whom she had toured for several years around the world. Winckworth appears on several award-winning Anúna albums, DVDs and collaborations such as Blizzard Entertainment's soundtrack to Diablo III.
Tara McNeill is an Irish violinist, harpist, and soprano singer from Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Megan Ruby Walsh is an Irish singer who joined the singing group Celtic Woman in 2018.
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Biography". katiemcmahon.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2013. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- 1 2 3 Johnson, Eric (9 March 2019). "Celebrating Ireland: Katie McMahon returning to Austin in time for St. Patrick's Day". Austin Daily Herald . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- 1 2 "Katie McMahon". celticcafe.com. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
- ↑ Metzger, Michael (11 April 2008). "Katie McMahon: It's never too late for a St. Pat's fix". MinnPost . Retrieved 6 November 2023.
- 1 2 Malone, Bernie (24 October 2012). "Riverdance singer Katie McMahon speaks about her upcoming show 'Loving the Silent Tears'". IrishCentral.com. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
