Lisa O'Neill (singer-songwriter) explained

Lisa O'Neill
Birth Name:Lisa O'Neill
Birth Place:Ireland
Origin:County Cavan
Occupation:Singer-songwriter
Years Active:2000–present
Instrument:Guitar, tenor banjo

Lisa O'Neill (born 1982[1]) is an Irish singer-songwriter.[2] [3] [4]

Early life

O'Neill grew up in Ballyhaise, County Cavan.[1]

Career

O'Neill moved to Dublin aged 18 to study music at Ballyfermot College. For seven years afterwards, she worked in the service industry in places such as Eddie Rocket's and Bewley's of Grafton Street, continuing to write songs.[1] Her first album, Has An Album, was released in 2009.[5] In 2011, David Gray invited her to open for him on his American and Canadian tour and she was also part of his touring band for a time.[6] Her 2013 and 2018 albums were nominated for the Choice Music Prize. She played at the 2016 Vancouver Folk Music Festival.[7]

In 2016, O'Neill made an appearance on the debut album by the trio Yorkston/Thorne/Khan, Everything Sacred.[8] In the album's liner notes, singer James Yorkston reveals that the possibility of calling the group Yorkston/Thorne/Khan/O'Neill was discussed, but that she saw herself as a guest.[9]

In 2017, O'Neill was featured in the film Song of Granite, in which she sang "The Galway Shawl".[10] That year, Donal Dineen and Miles O'Reilly showcased her in their seminal YouTube survey of contemporary Irish folk artists, This Ain't No Disco. She sang her own Factory Girl with Radie Peat of Lankum fame, laying down an a cappella performance that combined the best of trad with intense, minimal production values. [11]

O'Neill won Best Original Folk Track with "Rock the Machine" (from her album Heard a Long Gone Song) at the 2019 RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards,[12] and was nominated for Folk Singer of the Year, Best Traditional Track, Best Original Track and Best Album at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards in the same year.[13]

In 2021, O'Neill's cover of Dylan's All the Tired Horses reached a huge mainstream audience when her dark contralto channelled Tommy Shelby's return to his Roma roots in the final episode of Peaky Blinders.[14]

In December 2023, O'Neill performed a rendition of "Fairytale of New York" alongside the Pogues and Glen Hansard at Shane MacGowan's funeral service held at St Mary's of the Rosary Catholic Church, Nenagh, Co Tipperary, Ireland. They sang the roles of the 1987 original hit recording by the late Kirsty MacColl and MacGowan.[15] [16]

Discography

Studio albums

Title!scope="col" rowspan="2"
YearPeak chart positions
IRE
[17]
Has an Album2009
Same Cloth or Not201314
Pothole in the Sky201640
Heard a Long Gone Song[18] 201881
All of This Is Chance20236

EP

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Lisa O'Neill – Cavan's material girl. Tony. Clayton-Lea. The Irish Times.
  2. Web site: Lisa O'Neill: 'Like anyone being creative, there's always some self-doubt'. Independent.ie.
  3. News: Lisa O'Neill: On My Culture Radar. Shilpa. Ganatra. The Irish Times.
  4. Web site: Lisa O'Neill: Home. Lisa-o-neill.blogspot.com. 12 March 2023.
  5. Web site: Lisa O'Neill. Westcorkmusic.ie. 12 March 2023.
  6. Web site: Lisa O'Neill to open for David Gray . Hotpress.com . 20 November 2020.
  7. https://www.aikenpromotions.com/shows/show/899-lisa-o-neill-irish-tour.html
  8. Web site: Yorkston/Thorne/Khan: Everything Sacred review – bravely original Indian-folk-jazz fusion. Denselow, Robin. The Guardian. 14 January 2016. 17 February 2021.
  9. James Yorkston on Yorkston Thorne Khan. 15 January 2016. Yorkston. James. liner notes. Domino Records.
  10. Web site: Recalling Joe Heaney. 2021-01-09. The Journal of Music. en.
  11. Web site: Hurr . Alex . 2022-07-13 . This Ain't No Disco - a rediscovery . 2024-02-17 . Tradfolk . en-GB.
  12. Web site: 25 October 2019. THE WINNERS AT THIS YEAR'S RTÉ RADIO 1 FOLK AWARDS. 1 March 2021. Folk Radio.
  13. Web site: 1 August 2019. Lisa O'Neill Receives Four Nominations at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. 1 March 2021. Journal of Music.
  14. Web site: 2022-04-04 . Peaky Blinders & All The Tired Horses . 2024-02-17 . Lisa O'Neill . en-US.
  15. 'Fairytale of New York' played at Shane MacGowan's funeral. 8 December 2023 . 11 December 2023. RTÉ.
  16. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/12/08/shane-macgowan-funeral-dublin/ "Shane MacGowan funeral: Johnny Depp and Bob Geldof among star-studded congregation"
  17. Web site: Discography Lisa O'Neill. irish-charts.com. 18 February 2023.
  18. Web site: Lisa O'Neill: Heard a Long Gone Song review – raw and unvarnished folk for austere times. Jude. Rogers. 19 October 2018. Theguardian.com.