Nóirín Ní Riain

Nóirín Ní Riain
Nóirín Ní Riain performs in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Nora Mary Antoinette Ryan (Irish: Nóra Máire Antoinette Ní Riain)
Origin	Caherconlish, County Limerick, Ireland
Genres	Irish Traditional Folk Celtic Gregorian Chant
Instruments	Vocals, surpeti, shruti box, Irish whistle, piano
Years active	1977 – present
Labels	Daisy Discs (Ireland) Gael Linn (Ireland) Sounds True Inc. (USA)
Associated acts	size2shoes Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin
Website	http://www.theosony.com

Nóirín Ní Riain (born 1951, Caherconlish, County Limerick) is an Irish singer, writer, teacher, theologian, and authority on Gregorian Chant (plainchant, plainsong). She is primarily known for spiritual songs, but also sings Celtic music, Sean-nós and Indian songs. Nóirín plays an Indian harmonium (surpeti), shruti box and feadóg (whistle). She was Artist-in-Residence for Wexford and Laois. She performs with her sons Eoin and Mícheál Ó Súilleabháin under the name A.M.E.N. and gives workshops about Sound as a Spiritual Experience.

Nóirín Ní Riain began singing lessons at seven years of age. She later studied music at University College Cork (UCC), specialising in religious music for post-graduate work. She developed as a performer, focusing particularly on religious, Irish traditional, and international religious music. She has performed extensively worldwide—notable events include: the International Peace Gathering at Costa Rica to introduce His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama in 1989, The United Nations summit at Rio de Janeiro 1992, the European Cultural Month at Kraków, Poland 1992, the UN Earth summit in Copenhagen 1995, and the World Women summit in Beijing 1995. She has performed in the Royal Festival Hall with Sinéad O'Connor, with the American composer John Cage, with the sons of — and Simon, with Paul Winter at summer and winter solstice concerts in the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York, and with the Scola Gregoriana of Notre Dame University, Indiana, where she performed the leading role in Anima, by Hildegard von Bingen. She sang several times in India as a delegate of the Irish government, and performed in war-torn Sarajevo.

The Cork singer and teacher at UCC, Pilib Ó Laoghaire (1910–1976), was a great influence. He persuaded her to become a singer instead of studying law, and taught her Irish traditional sean-nós singing. In UCC she studied under Aloys Fleischmann and Seán Ó Riada.