Dolores Keane
| Dolores Keane | |
|---|---|
| Born |
26 September 1953 Sylane, County Galway, Ireland |
| Genres | Celtic, folk |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Years active | 1975–present |
| Associated acts |
Seán Keane De Dannan |
| Notable instruments | |
| Tin whistle | |
Dolores Keane (born 26 September 1953) 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.
Keane was born in a small village called Sylane (near Tuam) 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.
In 1975, she co-founded the traditional Irish band De Dannan, 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 early 1976, after a short two-year spell, Keane left De Dannan and was replaced by Andy Irvine, who recorded live with the band on 30 April 1976, during the 3rd Irish Folk Festival in Germany. Soon thereafter, she married multi-instrumentalist John Faulkner, with whom she would subsequently record three albums of folk music (see next section).
Keane lived and worked in London for several years with Faulkner, before they moved to Ireland in the early 1980s. They 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. In the mid-1980s she rejoined De Dannan and recorded the albums Anthem and Ballroom with them.
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