Rita Gallagher from Donegal is to be the guest at the Boyle Arts Festival singers' night, hosted by the Boyle Traditional Singers Circle, this year.
Thursday 28th July
8pm – 9.30pm Boyle traditional Singers Workshop with Rita Gallagher
Dodd’s The Crescent Bar €5 (includes admission to singers night)
9.30pm Boyle Traditional Singers Session with Rita Gallagher
Rita launched an album of her songs at the Cavan Fleadh in 2010 which has grown steadily in popularity since then. It's a 37 track CD, 20 newly recorded for the CD and some 17 tracks having been restored from older cassette tapes. The songs are traditional Donegal songs and include 'Lurgy Stream’, ‘John Adair’ and ‘Sheephaven Bay.’
The shores of Lough Bran
More about Rita from the Boyle Arts Festival site :
Rita Gallagher is from Ballymacahill, Frosses in County Donegal, and is noted as one of the finest traditional Irish singers.
She is a three-time winner of the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann All-Ireland title for female singing in English and regularly participates in festivals, workshops, and singing events throughout the country. Rita has also toured throughout Britain, Canada and the U.S. with Comhaltas.
Rita comes from a family of wonderful singers, including both her parents and her siblings. Although she always sang, she only came to traditional singing in her early twenties. She credits the great traditional singer Paddy Tunney among her most significant influences.
Rita’s recordings include The May Morning Dew, a collection of 20 traditional songs in English released in 2010, and her 14-song collection, Easter Snow, recorded in 1997. Her low, beautifully rich voice, eloquent ornamentation and restrained delivery make Rita a compelling and much admired singer.
Julie Fowlis and Rita Gallagher
