Anne Byrne (Irish folk singer)
Anne Byrne | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1943 Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | December 28, 2020 (aged 76–77) |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 1960s–1980 |
| Relatives | Willie Brady (maternal uncle) |
| Website | annebyrne |
Anne Byrne (1943 – 28 December 2020) was a noted Irish folk singer active in the 1960s and 1970s.
Early life
Byrne was born in Dún Laoghaire. She was the niece of Willie Brady, an Irish ballad and country singer who was popular in Ireland and abroad in the 1950s and 1960s.[1]
Career
Byrne became one of the few female voices in the Irish folk revival of the 1960s and 70s.[2] Her voice was described as "a classic 'folk' voice, pure, full, and melodic."[3] "Anne Byrne's voice floats clearly, lyrically, over the skilled guitar playing of Paddy Roche and MIck Crotty," wrote an American reviewer in 1972,[4] when her album I Chose the Green was re-released in the United States by Capitol Records, as part of their "International Series".[5]
After winning prizes for singing at the 1967 Father Mathew Feis (Feis an t-Athair Maitiú) in Dublin,[6] she performed on several TV programmes in Eire.[2] She also sang at a benefit concert in 1967, raising funds for St. Raphael's School for Mentally Handicapped Boys, in Celbridge.[7]
Byrne toured both North America and Europe. She performed at the Newport Folk Festival and at the 1969 Philadelphia Folk Festival. She performed in many of Ireland's most noted folk venues including The Abbey Tavern in Howth,[8] The Embankment in Tallaght, the Stardust in Artane,[9] and the Coffee Kitchen and O'Donoghue's in Dublin. She performed with, amongst others, the Dubliners and The Chieftains. She recorded four albums. She retired from singing professionally in 1980.[1][2]
Byrne married fellow musician Patrick Roche in 1966,[10] and had three children, Patrick, Jason, and Oisin. She died in 2020, in her seventies.[1]
Albums
Byrne also appears on The Rafters Ring at the Abbey Tavern (Pye Productions 1965), a recording of various artists' live performances at the popular Howth venue.[8]
- Jesse Owens And Anne Byrne With Seamus Gallagher (Waverley 1966)[11]
- I Chose The Green (Waverley 1967, Capitol Records 1972)[4]
- Anne Byrne Sings Irish (Hawk 1973; with Paddy Roche)
- Come By The Hills (Hawk 1974)[3]
References
- ^ a b c "Anne Byrne RIP: a gem of Irish music" Salut! Live (January 23, 2021).
- ^ a b c Parfitt, Richard (2019). “Folk Music Alone Will Not Supply Our Needs”: Music and Cultural Nationalism. Musical Culture and the Spirit of Irish Nationalism, 1848–1972. Routledge. p. 125.
- ^ a b "Albums: Balfe Bothered, Bewildered, and Brilliant". Evening Herald. 15 February 1975. p. 10. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "International Album 'Takes' Listener Away". The State. 6 August 1972. p. 72. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Record Reviews". Sun Post News. 22 August 1972. p. 13. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Father Mathew Feis ('Feis an t-Athair Maitiú') Dublin - Catholic Archives". Irish Capuchin Archives. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ^ "Folk". Evening Herald. 24 June 1967. p. 11. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Folk (record reviews)". Evening Herald. 15 September 1965. p. 4. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Let's Go Out: Stardust (concert listings)". Evening Herald. 9 November 1979. p. 14. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Focus on Folk". Evening Herald. 9 July 1966. p. 11. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Focus on Folk". Evening Herald. 18 February 1967. p. 9. Archived from the original on 15 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025 – via Newspapers.com.