Louise Morrissey

Born on 23 March 1961 in Bansha, Co. Tipperary, Eire, she developed an early passion for music. Once her schooling ended, she joined siblings Billy and Norman in the Morrisseys Folk And Ballad Group. Her debut recording, ‘Farewell To Carlingford’, appeared in 1978. The ensemble issued several well-received albums, among them Ireland’s Morrisseys and On Stage (Live From Olympia). In 1988, inspired by the success of Ray Lynam and Philomena Begley, she abandoned folk in favor of country and Irish; Norman took the role of bass guitarist in her band while Billy became manager. Her follow-up country release, ‘The Night Daniel O’Donnell Came To Town’—modeled on Johnny Cash’s hit ‘The Night Hank Williams Came To Town’—proved a major success across Ireland and confirmed her status as a leading Irish country performer. In 1990 she traveled to Zurich, where she outperformed entrants from fourteen nations to claim the European Country Music Gold Star Award with ‘Tipperary On My Mind’. Subsequent releases strengthened her standing, and the 1990 video Memories Of Home sold widely. She also drew strong praise for her performance at the Wembley International Festival Of Country Music. Her schedule took her to stages in the USA, Denmark and the Lebanon. On 26 September 1993, while en route to a concert, she survived a head-on collision. Intended to depart for Nashville the next day to cut another album and undertake American dates, she sustained injuries that kept her from performing for six months. During that period the promising young vocalist Trudi Lalor fronted the band and honored all Irish and UK engagements. Fully recovered by 1995, Morrissey joined Charley Pride on a UK tour and earned enthusiastic notices for her vocal work. She moves comfortably among Irish ballads such as ‘The Rose Of Allendale’, country standards like ‘Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain’, and contemporary numbers including ‘Achy Breaky Heart’, one of fourteen tracks cut during an earlier Nashville visit. Her voice ranks among the finest currently heard on the Irish and UK country circuits.