Biography
Iarla Ó Lionáird, whose name is spoken as ear-lah o'linnard, commands attention in Celtic folk circles through his richly textured voice and deep command of traditional Irish repertoire. Long recognized as one of the country’s foremost interpreters of the old-time style, he has steadily expanded from those foundations while maintaining their core. Beyond his solo work he played a decisive role in bringing the Afro-Celt Sound System to worldwide notice. Reviewing his first solo release, Seven Steps to Mercy, www.Ink19.com observed that the album “centers on the pure and shimmering vocal qualities of Iarla as he sings of immigrant memories, alcoholism, rivers, crucifixion, and love songs.”
Born in the Gaelic-speaking village of Cuil Aodha, Ó Lionáird has sung for nearly his entire life. His father, a school headmaster acquainted with the influential choir director Sean O’Riada, allowed the boy to join rehearsals of O’Riada’s ensemble Coir Cuil Aodha at age five. After his father’s death in 1971, Peadar O’Riada took over the choir and further refined the young singer’s technique.
Ó Lionáird made his first studio recording at seven and continued to develop throughout adolescence, finishing first in every competition he entered. While studying at college in Dublin in the mid-1980s he established himself as both performer and vocal instructor. In 1989 RTE Television named him host of the traditional-music program The Pure Drop.
Discouraged by the lack of label interest, he stepped away from music in the early 1990s, yet soon afterward sent RealWorld a six-page letter requesting an audition. The accompanying demo so impressed the company that it summoned him to its annual recording-week marathon at the studios in western England.
Although Seven Steps to Mercy—his debut solo album, supported only by uillean pipes—was already finished, its release was postponed once he committed to the Afro-Celt Sound System. He first appeared with the ensemble on the 1996 album Sound Magic, Vol. 1 and remained a continuing member of the multicultural collective. Additional partnerships include work with Shaun Davey and accordionist Tony MacMahon, yielding the live recording Aislingi Ceoil.
Grammy-nominated producer Michael Brook oversaw most of Seven Steps to Mercy, which also incorporated selections from every stage of Ó Lionáird’s career; the earliest is the eleven-year-old’s version of “Aisling Gheal,” produced by Peadar O’Riada. His second solo project served as the soundtrack to the film I Could Read the Sky, adapted from the novel by Chicago-based Irish-American writer Tim O’Grady. The album features fiddler Martin Hayes and Irish vocalist Sinead O’Connor, who joins him on a duet of “Singing Bird.” In 1999 he toured with Faith of Our Fathers.
Born in the Gaelic-speaking village of Cuil Aodha, Ó Lionáird has sung for nearly his entire life. His father, a school headmaster acquainted with the influential choir director Sean O’Riada, allowed the boy to join rehearsals of O’Riada’s ensemble Coir Cuil Aodha at age five. After his father’s death in 1971, Peadar O’Riada took over the choir and further refined the young singer’s technique.
Ó Lionáird made his first studio recording at seven and continued to develop throughout adolescence, finishing first in every competition he entered. While studying at college in Dublin in the mid-1980s he established himself as both performer and vocal instructor. In 1989 RTE Television named him host of the traditional-music program The Pure Drop.
Discouraged by the lack of label interest, he stepped away from music in the early 1990s, yet soon afterward sent RealWorld a six-page letter requesting an audition. The accompanying demo so impressed the company that it summoned him to its annual recording-week marathon at the studios in western England.
Although Seven Steps to Mercy—his debut solo album, supported only by uillean pipes—was already finished, its release was postponed once he committed to the Afro-Celt Sound System. He first appeared with the ensemble on the 1996 album Sound Magic, Vol. 1 and remained a continuing member of the multicultural collective. Additional partnerships include work with Shaun Davey and accordionist Tony MacMahon, yielding the live recording Aislingi Ceoil.
Grammy-nominated producer Michael Brook oversaw most of Seven Steps to Mercy, which also incorporated selections from every stage of Ó Lionáird’s career; the earliest is the eleven-year-old’s version of “Aisling Gheal,” produced by Peadar O’Riada. His second solo project served as the soundtrack to the film I Could Read the Sky, adapted from the novel by Chicago-based Irish-American writer Tim O’Grady. The album features fiddler Martin Hayes and Irish vocalist Sinead O’Connor, who joins him on a duet of “Singing Bird.” In 1999 he toured with Faith of Our Fathers.
Albums
Live
