Biography
Born to prosperous farming parents, Delia Murphy attended University College, Galway, where she expanded her academic interests by mastering a wide array of Irish ballads. Her command of the tradition in both English and Gaelic prompted the distinguished tenor John McCormack to ask for her help in shaping the pronunciation of “Una Bhan.” The performance so impressed a visiting A&R executive from HMV Records that she was promptly offered a recording contract.
Among her earliest sessions was the striking “The Spinning Wheel,” a piece John Francis Waller had written in 1899 that traced the courtship of young lovers against the steady rhythm of the turning wheel. Murphy’s haunting West Ireland brogue and Gaelic diction were paired with a harp setting that stood out for its era. Numbers such as “If I Were a Blackbird,” “Coortin’ in the Kitchen,” “Goodbye Mike and Goodbye Pat,” and “Nora Creina” established her as a traditional singer gifted with both wit and emotional depth. She drew freely from canonical Irish ballads as well as obscure songs rooted in tinker lore, while American pieces including “The Moonshiner” and “Boston Burglar” acquired a Gaelic flavor through her singular accent and phrasing.
Her marriage to Ambassador Dr. Thomas Kiernan, author of British War Finances and Their Consequences, took her to the Vatican in 1941, where she remained for the duration of the Second World War. While there she rendered her version of “Three Lovely Lassies” in Italian. After accompanying her husband on diplomatic postings around the globe, she retired to a farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, before returning to Ireland and settling in a cottage in the Liffey Valley west of Dublin. She suffered a fatal heart attack there in February 1971 at the age of 68.
Among her earliest sessions was the striking “The Spinning Wheel,” a piece John Francis Waller had written in 1899 that traced the courtship of young lovers against the steady rhythm of the turning wheel. Murphy’s haunting West Ireland brogue and Gaelic diction were paired with a harp setting that stood out for its era. Numbers such as “If I Were a Blackbird,” “Coortin’ in the Kitchen,” “Goodbye Mike and Goodbye Pat,” and “Nora Creina” established her as a traditional singer gifted with both wit and emotional depth. She drew freely from canonical Irish ballads as well as obscure songs rooted in tinker lore, while American pieces including “The Moonshiner” and “Boston Burglar” acquired a Gaelic flavor through her singular accent and phrasing.
Her marriage to Ambassador Dr. Thomas Kiernan, author of British War Finances and Their Consequences, took her to the Vatican in 1941, where she remained for the duration of the Second World War. While there she rendered her version of “Three Lovely Lassies” in Italian. After accompanying her husband on diplomatic postings around the globe, she retired to a farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, before returning to Ireland and settling in a cottage in the Liffey Valley west of Dublin. She suffered a fatal heart attack there in February 1971 at the age of 68.
Albums
