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Born into a Gaelic speaking household in 1957, Her father, a singer, was immersed in the traditions of the Donegal Gaeltacht from a young age. His repertoire included songs learned in the company of great singers such as Méabha Tharlaigh Mhóir, Máire John and Neillí Mhór of Rann na Feirste along with songs collected from the last Gaelic speakers of the Cooley Peninsula.
Eithne struck up a friendship with Gerry O’Connor, an established young fiddle player living in the area. This friendship would lead to a life long musical partnership and Eithne and Gerry married in 1978. They now focused their energy on reinterpreting the music and song of Oriel, an area encompassing the counties of Louth, Armagh and Monaghan.
In 1983, they teamed up with Desi Wilkinson, a well-known flute player from Belfast, to record their first studio album for Gael Linn, Cosa gan Bhróga. In 1990 Eithne met with Breton guitarist Gilles le Bigot and Gilles was invited to Ireland to play on Eithne and Gerry’s second album, Lá Lugh. In preparation for the album, Eithne continued to focus her attention on researching the music and songs of the Oriel region revisiting the collections of Lorcán Ó Muirí and Enrí Ó Muiríosa. Songs she had learned from traditional singers such as Len Graham, Sarah Makem and Róise Bean Uí Ghrianna were also included on the album alongside two traditional songs for which Eithne composed new melodies, Mál Bhán Ní Chuilleannáin and Oíche fá Fhéil Bríde. Historically, County Louth took its name from the pre-Christian God Lugh Lámhfhada or Long Handed Lugh. Lugh was also the ancient Celtic god of creativity. Lá Lugh was therefore chosen by the couple as the title for their newly formed group to highlight and celebrate the music and song tradition of the area where they lived, and from where they drew their inspiration.
In 1993, Eithne toured German in the company of Capercaillie andperformed with Dan ar Braz' Heritage des Celtes. Enthused by these experiences, she began to focus further on writing new songs and melodies. In April 1995, Lá Lugh embarked on recording their second album, Brighid’s Kiss. Her more recent touring experiences inspired Eithne to draw upon various world music influences and these rhythms and sounds were now emerging in Eithne's original compositions, which featured prominently on the album. Released in 1995, the album was hailed by critics as “stunning” (The Living Tradition), “irresistible” (The Sunday Times), “singularly beautiful” (The Irish Times) and was described by Folk Roots Magazine as “an outstanding album of daring originality”. The album also received Irish Music Magazine’s highly coveted ‘Album of the Year’ award in 1996. -------------------------- In 1997, Lá Lugh signed to global independent music publisher, Peer Music. This marked a new phase in Eithne’s development and led to Eithne and Gerry signing with Sony Music (France) later that year. The group’s fourth album, Senex Puer, was released on the Sony Classical labeland included previously recorded tracks from Lá Lugh and Brighid's Kiss, along with two new songs previously licensed to German label, Wundertute Recordings. Sony also released two of Eithne's songs, Senex Puer and Ta sé na Lá, as dance mixes on the label. This was a time of great musical activity for Eithne, performing and composing new material and also presenting a paper on traditional song at the prestigious Merriman Summer School in County Clare. In 1997, Eithne returned to the studio to record new material for her forthcoming solo album and for a new Lá Lugh album.
Bilingua, Eithne’s first solo album, is a blend of newly composed and traditional songs recorded between 1997 and 1999. Recorded over 15 years ago, this contemporary album is a clear reflection of the creative course on which Eithne’s song writing and composition was heading before her untimely death in May 1999. It celebrates the life and legacy of an inspirational singer and composer who left us all too soon.
