Lisa O'Neill (singer-songwriter) facts for kids

Lisa O'Neill is an Irish singer and songwriter, born in 1982. She is known for her unique folk music style and powerful voice. She writes her own songs and plays instruments like the guitar and tenor banjo.

Early Life and Music Start

Lisa O'Neill grew up in a place called Ballyhaise in County Cavan, Ireland. When she was 18, she moved to Dublin to study music at Ballyfermot College. After college, she worked in different jobs for seven years, but she always kept writing songs.

Music Career Highlights

Lisa O'Neill released her first album, Has An Album, in 2009. Two years later, in 2011, a famous British musician named David Gray invited her to perform with him. She opened his shows during his tours in America and Canada. She even played in his band for a while.

Award Nominations and Performances

Lisa's albums from 2013 and 2018 were nominated for the Choice Music Prize. This is a big award for music in Ireland. In 2016, she performed at the Vancouver Folk Music Festival in Canada.

Collaborations and Film Music

In 2016, Lisa O'Neill appeared on an album called Everything Sacred by a music group called Yorkston/Thorne/Khan. She was a special guest on their album.

In 2017, Lisa was featured in a film called Song of Granite. In the movie, she sang a traditional song called "The Galway Shawl". That same year, she was also part of a special online series called "This Ain't No Disco," which showed off new Irish folk artists. She sang her song "Factory Girl" with Radie Peat from the band Lankum.

Winning Awards

Lisa O'Neill won an award in 2019 at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. She won "Best Original Folk Track" for her song "Rock the Machine." This song is from her album Heard a Long Gone Song. In the same year, she was nominated for several awards at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Music in TV Shows

In 2021, Lisa O'Neill's cover of Bob Dylan's song "All the Tired Horses" became very popular. Her version was used in the final episode of the TV show Peaky Blinders. Her deep voice made the song perfect for a key moment in the show.

Special Performances

In December 2023, Lisa O'Neill performed at the funeral service for Shane MacGowan, a famous Irish singer. She sang "Fairytale of New York" with the band the Pogues and singer Glen Hansard. They sang the parts originally performed by Kirsty MacColl and Shane MacGowan in the famous 1987 song.

Albums and EPs

Lisa O'Neill has released several studio albums and one EP (Extended Play).

Studio albums

EP

• The Wren, the Wren (2019)