Dolores Keane
Encyclopedia
Dolores Keane is an Irish folk
singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the successful group De Dannan
, and has since embarked on a very successful solo career, establishing herself as one of the most loved interpreters of Irish song.
) in rural County Galway
in the west of Ireland. She was raised by her aunts Rita
and Sarah Keane since the age of four, who are also well-known sean-nós
singers. Keane started her singing at a very young age, due to the influence of her musical aunts. She made her first recording for Radio Éireann in 1958, at the age of five. This early start inevitably meant that Keane would have a career in music. Her brother, Seán
, also went on to enjoy a successful music career.
, and they released their debut album Dé Danann in that same year. The group gained international recognition and enjoyed major success in the late 1970s in the US. Keane went touring with the band and their single “The Rambling Irishman” was a big hit in Ireland. In 1977, after a short two year spell, Keane left De Dannan to marry musician John Faulkner.
. While there, the pair worked on a series of film scores and programmes for the BBC
and formed two successful bands, The Reel Union and Kinvara. During this period Keane recorded her first solo album, There Was a Maid in 1978. This was followed by two other releases, Broken Hearted I'll Wander (1979) and Farewell to Eirinn (1980), which gave credit to Faulkner. She returned to Ireland in the mid-1980s and rejoined with De Dannan
and recorded the albums Anthem and Ballroom with them.
Keane turned her attention, once again, to her solo career in 1988. It saw the release of the eponymous Dolores Keane album. Her follow-up album A Lion in a Cage, which hit the shelves in 1989, featured a song written by Faulkner protesting the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela
. It served as Keane’s second Irish number one and she performed the hit at the celebration of his release. This exposure expanded Keane’s reputation and popularity worldwide. A new facet was added to Dolores' career when she played the female lead in the Dublin production of Brendan Behan
's The Hostage
, a new translation by Niall Tóibín
and Michael Scott
, the opening night of which was attended by Mary Robinson
, the President of Ireland at the time.
In 1992, Keane was among the many female Irish singers to lend their music to the record-smashing anthology A Woman's Heart
. The album, which also featured Eleanor McEvoy
, Mary Black
, Frances Black
, Sharon Shannon
and Maura O'Connell
, went on to become the biggest-selling album in Irish history. A Woman's Heart Vol.2 was released in late 1994 and emulated its predecessor in album charts the world over. Also in 1994, a solo album, entitled Solid Ground, was released on the Shanachie label (available on Dara Records) and received critical acclaim in Europe and America.
In August, 1995, Keane was awarded the prestigious Fiddler's Green Hall of Fame award in Rostrevor
, County Down
, for her “significant contribution to the cause of Irish music and culture”. In that same year, she took to the stage in the Dublin production of JM Synge
’s Playboy of the Western World. Dolores contributed to the RTÉ
/BBC
television production "Bringing It All Back Home", a series of programmes illustrating the movement of Irish music to America. Dolores was shown performing both in Nashville
, Tennessee
with musicians such as Emmylou Harris
and Richard Thompson and at home in Galway
with her aunts Rita and Sarah.
In August, 1997, Keane went to number one again in the Irish album charts with a compilation album with her most loved songs. And another studio album was released by Keane in 1998, called Night Owl. It saw Keane returning to her traditional Irish roots and it done well in Europe and America. Despite a healthy solo career, Keane went on tour with De Dannan
again in the late 1990s, where she played to packed audiences in venues such as Birmingham, Alabama
and New York City.
Keane has not released a solo album since 1998 as of 2008, stating that she wanted to take a hard-earned break after twenty-five years of relentless touring.
", Frank A. Fahey's "Galway Bay
", Paul Brady
's "The Island" and "Never Be the Sun" are regarded as amongst the greatest interpreatations of these songs. American singer Nanci Griffith
said of Keane: "Dolores Keane, the queen of the soul of Ireland, has a sacred voice.".
and failing vision
, though he has been spared mental retardation
. Dolores and John's marriage ended in 1988. Her current partner is Barry "Bazza" Farmer, with whom she had her second child, Tara, born in 1994. Keane put an end to recording and touring in the late 1990s, due to depression
and alcoholism
. She has received extensive treatment for these conditions. As of 2007, Keane lives outside Galway
with her two children and Barry.
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
singer and occasional actress. She was a founding member of the successful group De Dannan
De Dannan
De Dannan was an Irish folk music group. They were formed by Frankie Gavin , Alec Finn , Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh and Charlie Piggott as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in An Spidéal, County Galway, subsequently inviting Dolores Keane to join the band...
, and has since embarked on a very successful solo career, establishing herself as one of the most loved interpreters of Irish song.
Background
Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near TuamTuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
) in rural County Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
in the west of Ireland. She was raised by her aunts Rita
Rita Keane
Rita Keane was an Irish traditional singer and accordionist. She was a member a well-known Irish musical family, and had a lifelong musical partnership with her older sister, Sarah...
and Sarah Keane since the age of four, who are also well-known sean-nós
Sean-nós song
Sean-nós is a highly ornamented style of unaccompanied traditional Irish singing. It is a sean-nós activity, which also includes sean-nós dancing...
singers. Keane started her singing at a very young age, due to the influence of her musical aunts. She made her first recording for Radio Éireann in 1958, at the age of five. This early start inevitably meant that Keane would have a career in music. Her brother, Seán
Seán Keane (singer)
Seán Keane is an Irish singer and musician, known for his distinctive sean-nós-style voice.-Background:Seán Keane was born in a small village called Caherlistrane near Tuam in County Galway into a musical family, including his renowned sister Dolores...
, also went on to enjoy a successful music career.
De Dannan
In 1975, she co-founded the traditional Irish band De DannanDe Dannan
De Dannan was an Irish folk music group. They were formed by Frankie Gavin , Alec Finn , Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh and Charlie Piggott as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in An Spidéal, County Galway, subsequently inviting Dolores Keane to join the band...
, and they released their debut album Dé Danann in that same year. The group gained international recognition and enjoyed major success in the late 1970s in the US. Keane went touring with the band and their single “The Rambling Irishman” was a big hit in Ireland. In 1977, after a short two year spell, Keane left De Dannan to marry musician John Faulkner.
Solo career
They newly married Dolores and John decided to move to BritainUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. While there, the pair worked on a series of film scores and programmes for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and formed two successful bands, The Reel Union and Kinvara. During this period Keane recorded her first solo album, There Was a Maid in 1978. This was followed by two other releases, Broken Hearted I'll Wander (1979) and Farewell to Eirinn (1980), which gave credit to Faulkner. She returned to Ireland in the mid-1980s and rejoined with De Dannan
De Dannan
De Dannan was an Irish folk music group. They were formed by Frankie Gavin , Alec Finn , Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh and Charlie Piggott as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in An Spidéal, County Galway, subsequently inviting Dolores Keane to join the band...
and recorded the albums Anthem and Ballroom with them.
Keane turned her attention, once again, to her solo career in 1988. It saw the release of the eponymous Dolores Keane album. Her follow-up album A Lion in a Cage, which hit the shelves in 1989, featured a song written by Faulkner protesting the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
. It served as Keane’s second Irish number one and she performed the hit at the celebration of his release. This exposure expanded Keane’s reputation and popularity worldwide. A new facet was added to Dolores' career when she played the female lead in the Dublin production of Brendan Behan
Brendan Behan
Brendan Francis Behan was an Irish poet, short story writer, novelist, and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also an Irish republican and a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army.-Early life:...
's The Hostage
The Hostage (play)
The Hostage is a loose 1958 English version, with songs, adapted in a much longer text from a one-act Irish language play An Giall, by its author, Brendan Behan.-Plot:...
, a new translation by Niall Tóibín
Niall Toibin
Niall Tóibín is an Irish comedian and actor. Born in Cork into an Irish speaking family, Tóibín grew up on the north-side of the city in Bishop's Field. He has appeared in Ryan's Daughter, Bracken, The Irish R.M., Caught in a Free State, Ballykissangel, Far and Away, and Veronica Guerin, and has...
and Michael Scott
Michael Scott (Irish author)
Michael Scott is an Irish author.Michael Scott is a seasoned and prolific writer of over 100 books during his 25 plus years of writing thus far...
, the opening night of which was attended by Mary Robinson
Mary Robinson
Mary Therese Winifred Robinson served as the seventh, and first female, President of Ireland from 1990 to 1997, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, from 1997 to 2002. She first rose to prominence as an academic, barrister, campaigner and member of the Irish Senate...
, the President of Ireland at the time.
In 1992, Keane was among the many female Irish singers to lend their music to the record-smashing anthology A Woman's Heart
A Woman's Heart
A Woman's Heart is a compilation of twelve tracks performed by six female Irish artists, namely Eleanor McEvoy, Mary Black, Dolores Keane, Sharon Shannon, Frances Black, and Maura O'Connell...
. The album, which also featured Eleanor McEvoy
Eleanor McEvoy
Eleanor McEvoy is one of Ireland's most accomplished contemporary singer/songwriters. McEvoy composed the song Only A Woman's Heart, title track of A Woman's Heart, the best-selling Irish album in Irish history.-Biography:...
, Mary Black
Mary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
, Frances Black
Frances Black
Frances Black is an award-winning Irish singer. A pure vocal tone and an energetic stage presence has made Black one of Ireland’s most popular singers...
, Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon
Sharon Shannon is an Irish musician. She is best known for her work with the accordion and for her fiddle technique. She also plays the tin whistle and melodeon. Her 1991 album Sharon Shannon is the best selling album of traditional Irish music ever released there...
and Maura O'Connell
Maura O'Connell
Maura O'Connell is an Irish singer and actress. She is known for her contemporary interpretations of Irish folk songs, strongly influenced by American country music.-Background:...
, went on to become the biggest-selling album in Irish history. A Woman's Heart Vol.2 was released in late 1994 and emulated its predecessor in album charts the world over. Also in 1994, a solo album, entitled Solid Ground, was released on the Shanachie label (available on Dara Records) and received critical acclaim in Europe and America.
In August, 1995, Keane was awarded the prestigious Fiddler's Green Hall of Fame award in Rostrevor
Rostrevor
Rostrevor is a village in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the Newry and Mourne District Council area. It lies at the foot of Slieve Martin on the coast of Carlingford Lough. The Kilbroney River flows through the village....
, County Down
County Down
-Cities:*Belfast *Newry -Large towns:*Dundonald*Newtownards*Bangor-Medium towns:...
, for her “significant contribution to the cause of Irish music and culture”. In that same year, she took to the stage in the Dublin production of JM Synge
John Millington Synge
Edmund John Millington Synge was an Irish playwright, poet, prose writer, and collector of folklore. He was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival and was one of the cofounders of the Abbey Theatre...
’s Playboy of the Western World. Dolores contributed to the RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
/BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television production "Bringing It All Back Home", a series of programmes illustrating the movement of Irish music to America. Dolores was shown performing both in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
with musicians such as Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
and Richard Thompson and at home in Galway
County Galway
County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...
with her aunts Rita and Sarah.
In August, 1997, Keane went to number one again in the Irish album charts with a compilation album with her most loved songs. And another studio album was released by Keane in 1998, called Night Owl. It saw Keane returning to her traditional Irish roots and it done well in Europe and America. Despite a healthy solo career, Keane went on tour with De Dannan
De Dannan
De Dannan was an Irish folk music group. They were formed by Frankie Gavin , Alec Finn , Johnny "Ringo" McDonagh and Charlie Piggott as a result of sessions in Hughes's Pub in An Spidéal, County Galway, subsequently inviting Dolores Keane to join the band...
again in the late 1990s, where she played to packed audiences in venues such as Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
and New York City.
Keane has not released a solo album since 1998 as of 2008, stating that she wanted to take a hard-earned break after twenty-five years of relentless touring.
Musical legacy
Keane is known the world-over for her deep, yet melodic voice. Her recordings of songs such as Dougie McLean's "CaledoniaCaledonia (song)
Caledonia is a modern Scottish folk ballad written by Dougie MacLean somewhere between 1974 and 1977. and published in 1979 on an album of the same name. The chorus features the lyrics "Caledonia, you're calling me, and now I'm going home". MacLean plays the song in the key of E using Open C tuning...
", Frank A. Fahey's "Galway Bay
Galway Bay (song)
"Galway Bay" is the name of two different songs.The first Galway Bay is traditionally more popular and known in the Galway Bay area. The second song is more popular outside of Ireland.- First song: Galway Bay. :...
", Paul Brady
Paul Brady
Paul Joseph Brady is an Irish singer-songwriter, whose work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age...
's "The Island" and "Never Be the Sun" are regarded as amongst the greatest interpreatations of these songs. American singer Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith
Nanci Griffith, is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas.-Biography:...
said of Keane: "Dolores Keane, the queen of the soul of Ireland, has a sacred voice.".
Personal life
Keane married musician John Faulkner, with whom she had worked on many occasions, in 1977 . After a very difficult pregnancy, Keane gave birth to their first child, Joseph. He was born with Laurence-Moon-Bardet-Biedl Syndrome, which causes obesityObesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
and failing vision
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
, though he has been spared mental retardation
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
. Dolores and John's marriage ended in 1988. Her current partner is Barry "Bazza" Farmer, with whom she had her second child, Tara, born in 1994. Keane put an end to recording and touring in the late 1990s, due to depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. She has received extensive treatment for these conditions. As of 2007, Keane lives outside Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
with her two children and Barry.
Discography
- There Was A Maid (1978)
- Dolores Keane (1988)
- Lion in a Cage (1989)
- Solid Ground (1993)
- Night Owl (1998) Alula Records
Dolores Keane and John Faulkner
- Broken Hearted I'll Wander (1979)
- Farewell To Eirinn (1980)
- Sail Og Rua (1983)
Compilations
- Best of Dolores Keane (1997)
- Where Have all the Flowers Gone: The Very Best of Dolores Keane (2003)
Anthologies
- A Woman's Heart (1992)
- Bringing It All Back Home - Influence of Irish Music (2 CDs) (2000)
External links
- [ allmusic.com biography]