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 stepdance that became a full-length stage production and spawned a worldwide craze for Irish traditional 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.
Planxty were an Irish folk music band formed in January 1972, consisting initially of Christy Moore, Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, and Liam O'Flynn. They transformed and popularized Irish folk music, touring and recording to great acclaim.
Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland.
De Dannan is an Irish folk music group. It was formed in 1975 by Frankie Gavin (fiddle), Alec Finn, Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh (bodhrán) and Charlie Piggott (banjo) as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in Spiddal, County Galway, Ireland, with Dolores Keane (vocals) subsequently being invited to join the band. The fiddler Mickey Finn (1951–1987) is also acknowledged to have been a founder member.
Andrew Kennedy Irvine is an Irish folk musician, singer-songwriter, and a founding member of Sweeney's Men, Planxty, Patrick Street, Mozaik, LAPD and Usher's Island. He also featured in duos, with Dónal Lunny, Paul Brady, Mick Hanly, Dick Gaughan, Rens van der Zalm, and Luke Plumb. Irvine plays the mandolin, mandola, bouzouki, harmonica, and hurdy-gurdy.
Moving Hearts is an Irish Celtic rock band formed in 1981. They followed in the footsteps of Horslips in combining Irish traditional music with rock and roll, and also added elements of jazz to their sound.
Celtic rock is a genre of folk rock, as well as a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context. It has been prolific since the early 1970s and can be seen as a key foundation of the development of successful mainstream Celtic bands and popular musical performers, as well as creating important derivatives through further fusions. It has played a major role in the maintenance and definition of regional and national identities and in fostering a pan-Celtic culture. It has also helped to communicate those cultures to external audiences.
Dónal Lunny 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 Usher's Island, he has been at the forefront of the renaissance of Irish traditional music for over five decades.
Karan Casey is an Irish folk singer, and a former member of the Irish band Solas. She resides in Cork, Ireland.
Prosperous is the second album by Irish folk musician Christy Moore, released in 1972. His first album, Paddy on the Road, was recorded by Dominic Behan in 1969 and has long been out of print. In addition to Moore's guitar and voice, Prosperous featured musicians Andy Irvine, Liam Óg O'Flynn and Dónal Lunny. These four musicians later gave themselves the name Planxty, making this album something of the first Planxty album in all but name. Other musicians included Kevin Conneff on bodhrán, Clive Collins on fiddle, and Dave Bland on concertina.
John Spillane is a singer-songwriter from Cork, Ireland.
Niall Vallely is an Irish musician, born 1970 in Armagh, Northern Ireland. In 1966 his parents, Brian and Eithne Vallely had founded the Armagh Piper's Club, but he chose to learn the concertina instead, from the age of seven. His brother Cillian plays the uilleann pipes and low whistle, learning from Mark Donnelly. Another of his brothers, Caoimhin, plays classical piano, tin whistle and fiddle. In 1990, Vallely founded the group Nomos, which released two albums before breaking up in 2000. In 1992, Vallely completed a degree in music at University College, Cork.
Gráda is a traditional Irish music band founded in 2001 whose members are a mix of Irish and New Zealand musicians. Based in Dublin and Galway, Ireland, Gráda have spent much of their time touring internationally. In 2011, members of Gráda disbanded to work on individual projects. The band reformed in 2020 to play a concert in New Zealand and were joined by Tola Custy. In October 2023 they reformed to embark on a nine date tour of New Zealand, to be followed by dates in Ireland
Irish traditional music is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland.
Celtic Folkweave is a studio album by Mick Hanly and Mícheál Ó Domhnaill, released in 1974 by Polydor Records. Considered a seminal album in the traditional Irish music genre, the musicians involved in the recording would go on to found some of the most innovative and important groups to perform traditional Irish music.
The Woman I Loved So Well is the fifth studio album by Planxty. Like their previous album, After The Break, the album was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios and released by Tara Records. Co-produced by band member Dónal Lunny and engineer Brian Masterson, the album was recorded in April and May of 1980 and released on LP in July of that year. It remains in print on CD and in digital form from Tara to date.
Crubeen, formerly The Longkesh Ramblers, was a 1970s Irish folk band from Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Between the Jigs and the Reels: A Retrospective is a two-disc anthology by the Irish folk band Planxty. It includes a 17-track CD and a 36-track DVD with over two hours of previously unreleased footage (1972–1982) from RTÉ archives.
Usher's Island is an Irish folk band featuring Andy Irvine, Dónal Lunny, Paddy Glackin, Michael McGoldrick and John Doyle. Their repertoire consists of Irish traditional songs and tunes, as well as songs written by Irvine and Doyle, respectively.
Liz Doherty is an Irish fiddler based in County Donegal who also recorded and toured with both Nomos and The Bumblebees as well as alone.
