Delia Murphy

Delia Murphy Kiernan (16 February 1902 – 11 February 1971) was a singer and collector of Irish ballads. She recorded several 78 rpm records in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. In 1962 she recorded her only LP, The Queen of Connemara, for Irish Prestige Records, New York, on the cover of which her name appears alongside the LP title.

During World War II, she aided Vatican official, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, in saving the lives of 6,500 Allied soldiers and Jews, while her husband, Dr. Thomas J. Kiernan, was the Irish Ambassador in Rome from 1941–46.

She was born in Ardroe, Roundfort, County Mayo, Ireland to a well-off family. Her father, John Murphy, from nearby Hollymount, made his fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush. While in America, he married Ann Fanning from Roscrea, County Tipperary. They returned to Ireland in 1901 and purchased the large Mount Jennings Estate in Hollymount. John encouraged Delia's interest in singing ballads from a young age. He also allowed Irish travellers to camp on the estate. According to her own account, she learned her first ballads at their campfires.

Delia was educated at Presentation Convent, Tuam; Dominican College, Dublin; and University College Galway (UCG), where she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. In UCG she met Dr. Thomas J. Kiernan, and they married in 1924, on her 22nd birthday. Kiernan then joined the Irish diplomatic service, where his first posting was to London. While there Murphy sang at many venues including many gatherings of Irish emigrants and became quite well-known. In 1939 she recorded The Blackbird, The Spinning Wheel and Three Lovely Lassies for HMV.

...
Wikipedia