The Turn of the Road - Eithne Ni Uallachain

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Performed by Eithne Ní Uallacháin of Lá Lugh - Carlingford - 1996
Song - The Turning of the Road
Words by Les Barker
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. Reflecting on her upbringing, Eithne wrote, “I was born into a passionate, intelligent family, whose passion for the Irish language, for literature and for learning, was the foundation stone on which all my music was based. My father’s love of song steered the course and purpose of my life.”
Eithne struck up a friendship with Gerry O’Connor, an established young fiddle player living in Dundalk. 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 recorded their first studio album for Gael Linn titled 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. Supported by sound engineer, Shaun 'Mudd' Wallace and musicians such as Garry Ó Briain, Neil Martin and Gilles le Bigot, Eithne and Gerry created a musical dynamic on the album that stood apart from other recordings of that time. Historically, 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. Omeath Music and Brighid's Kiss, the title track to the album, demonstrated Eithne’s ability to gather snippets of old songs and to develop them with new melodies; or to take old airs and to match them with newly written lyrics. This, in turn, influenced the writing of entirely new compositions such as Tá Sé 'na Lá, a play on the song Nil Sé 'na Lá, which was inspired by the positive developments in the peace process in the North of Ireland. 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. 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.

[@catherinepestano7799]

such a voice, lost to us too soon, thank you for sharing these treasures x

[@nightspore73]

Thanks for making these filmed performances available - they are absolutely priceless. What a treasure Eithne was and is.

[@marcus4825]

Stunning. Heard this voice on BBC Radio 4 in a programme called 'Songs for the Dead' (16 Aug 2016) and am so glad to have found it again here. Thank you, thank you.

[@familled.b4091]

Eithne encore Merci beaucoup gracias very Much Jm b RezÉ 44 Français

[@GerryOConnorfiddle]

Lá Lugh . the voice of Eithne Ní Uallacháin ...New Album of Eithne's songs Bilingua .. nominated for album of the year 2014,, www.eithneniuallachain.com/recordings/bilingua/