Beathaisnéis/Biography


Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin (gliogáil leis an phioctiúr a fheiceal níos mó /click to enlarge)	Ceolann Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin don chuid is mó i nGaeilge, sa tSean Nós agus sa stíl comhaimseartha, agus ceolann sí i mBéarla fosta. Lá éigin amach anseo beidh an uirlis busúcai i ndiaidh a h-ainm fosta. Tá sí ag obair air. ...plays bodhrán and sings mostly in Irish, in both Sean-Nós (unaccompanied traditional singing in the Irish language) and contemporary style, and also in English. One day she would like to add 'bouzouki' to that. She's working on it... Click here to read biography in Arabic as .pdf Click: FAQs eg "JAYSUS, how do you pronounce yer name?".
flora, 5: "mama, wenn du in deine trommel so verliebt bist, dann must du sie unbedingt heiraten!" ("mama, if you're so in love with your drum, then you'll just have to marry it!") Beathaisnéis Rugadh Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin i gKajiado, an Chéinia san Aifric Thoir agus bhí fhios aice ó na céad laetha sin i measc a cuid bráthar Maasai gur mhaith leí bheith ina ceoltóir craguirlisí (nó ina cragcheoltóir craicáilte), sin nó ina damhsóir, nuair a thiocfadh ann dí. ("Leoga bhí sí ag damhsa roimh siúil daoithe" - Mama Uí Mhaoileoin). Ba é craitheoir Masach, líonta le h-eorna, a céad uirlis ceoil. Chuaidh sí ar aghaidh uaidh sin go dtí droma de chraiceann bó, rud a bhuail sí le fuinneamh go dtug duine éigin bodhrán dí le "in ainm Croim, a leinbh, caidé shíleann tú atá ionat - cineál inteacht de Afro-Cheilteach, an ea"? Bhí sí mar bhall de ’n ghrúpa teaghlaigh, "Ceoltóirí Ghoill", agus rinne siad ceolchoirmeacha go leitheadach fríd Éire, An Bhreatain Bheag, Alba, Sasana, An Bhriotáin agus Stáit Aontaithe Mheiriceá, go dtí gur scior an grúpa sa bhliain 1985. Seineann Bríd an bodhrán agus is amhránaí í. Ceolann sí don chuid is mó i nGaeilge, sa tSean Nós agus sa stíl comhaimseartha, agus ceolann sí i mBéarla fosta. Lá éigin amach anseo beidh an uirlis busúcai i ndiaidh a h-ainm fosta. Tá sí ag obair air. Biography Bríd Ní Mhaoileoin was born of Belfast parents in Kajiado, Kenya, where she spent the first few years of her life emersed in the music, colours and rhythms of the Masai. She knew from her first days with her Masai Brothers and Sisters that she would like to be a percussionist or a dancer when she grew up ("Sure, she was dancing before she could even walk" - Mama Ní Mhaoileoin). Her first instrument was a Masai shaker filled with barley. She then progressed to a cow-skin drum and played that with gusto until someone, most likely from Cobh, donated a bodhrán saying "feck's sake, what do you do think you are child, some sort of Afro-Celt". Bríd grew up on the Ros Goill peninsula on the rugged rocky rowdy north-west coast of Donegal, Ireland. During her childhood and into her early teens she played with the family group Ceoltóirí Ghoill, together with her four siblings, jaunting around Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany and the United States. They were the first ever Boy/Girl Band to sing in Irish and Swahili. In fact they were the only ever Boy/Girl Band to sing in Irish and Swahili. They were probably the first ever Boy/Girl Band fullstop. To prove it they even had kiddy-fans who they picked up on their groundbreaking year-long tour of secondary schools in Ireland, North and South. One of the family's characteristic features was their a capella singing in the Irish language and their Swahili numbers with five voices and five bodhráns/bongos/masai-shakey-things. Bríd played bodhrán with the group and was emerging as the group's lead singer when they split up in 1985.
(gliogáil leis an phioctiúr a fheiceal níos mó /click to enlarge)	left: "The earliest photo of me on stage with my beloved sisters and brothers Máire, Pádraig, Caoimhe and Briano - no prizes for guessing which one is me" (Bríd)
When she realised her dream of becoming the first ever Celtic Spice Babe was not to be, Bríd turned to her second love - languages - which also stems from her early days in Kenya, where she learnt Irish at home and Swahili in the 'playground' (the bush would be more like it!). During the course of her language studies, which she extended by three years to study and work abroad, she had the opportunity to play in various duets and groups, and fondly remembers guest appearances with the group "Lustucru" while living in Quebec, and the Hanover group "DeReelium" while living in Germany. In 1998 while studying in Dublin, she met the Italian composer Antonio Breschi and guested with him playing bodhrán in his Arabic/Flamenco show "Al Kamar" over the next three years. Through Breschi Bríd met Irish singer/guitarist Alan Burke and very quickly knew that he was the musical partner she had been looking for. On completion of her degree in translation with French and German in 1998, Bríd moved to Austria to take up a job teaching translation at the University of Graz. After five happy years there she decided it was the right time to devote more time to her other projects, which are music and art. Apart from completing her debut cd "Ar Mhuin na Muice", in early May, she completed a teaching course in PanArt (her new love) under ‘Masu’ the founder of the technique, and regularly gives workshops in Graz, Austria together with artist Manfred Url. She is also working with Manfred Url and Greek composer Alexis Porfyriadis on a new performance art project. And she hasn't forgotten her childhood love of dancing - nowadays it's Latino she prefers though - especially Salsa and Meringue.

Alan Burke

Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Musical Arranger

Meeting Alan Burke in 2000 was the catalyst for getting my long-time wish of making a cd rolling. I knew very quickly that he was the musical partner I was looking for and all I can say now is "Go raibh maith agat Alan".

Alan has been singing for as long has he can remember. His first outings as a musician were as a drummer in his teens and early twenties, playing in numerous outfits and working as a session player in studios throughout the UK. However, after taking to the guitar at the age of nineteen, the songs came back to the fore and the drumsticks were finally put away for good in 1984. The following year Alan joined up with fiddle player Henry Sears and bouzouki and tenor banjo player Tim Potts in Wales to form the band Afterhours.

Over the next ten years they became one of the hardest touring bands in Irish music, playing all over Europe and America, Poland, Croatia, Slovenia and most places in between. They also managed to record three very well received albums in that time: the eponymously titled "Afterhours" (1988), "Hung Up and Dry" (1990), and "Up To Here" (1992). These titles don't seem to be available any longer, but who knows in the future?

Contact: Web: www.alanburke.com
E-Mail: alanburkesings@hotmail.com

See "Reviews" for more about Alan’s brilliant solo cds.

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