Maeve Donnelly facts for kids

Maeve Donnelly is a very talented Irish traditional fiddle player. She is known for her special way of playing within the traditional Irish music style. Many people consider her one of the best fiddle players in Ireland.

Maeve's Early Life and Music Journey

Maeve Donnelly was born in County Galway, near a beautiful place called Kylemore Abbey in Loughrea. Today, she lives in Quin, County Clare. Maeve started playing music when she was very young. Even though her parents were not musicians, she won her first All-Ireland Fiddle Competition when she was just nine years old! Her family later became very musical, with her three brothers also playing instruments like the accordion, banjo, and fiddle.

Winning Competitions and Touring

Maeve's talent quickly grew. She toured the United States in 1976 for the Bicentennial celebration, which was a big event. She also toured there again in 1978 and 1983. In the 1970s, she won two more All-Ireland fiddle titles. She also won the National Slogadh Competition for Solo Fiddle and The Stone Fiddle Competition in County Fermanagh in 1981. These wins showed how amazing she was at playing the fiddle.

Education and Career Today

After her many successes, Maeve went to college in Dublin. Once she finished her studies, she moved to live in County Clare. Today, Maeve is a teacher, but she also continues her musical career. She travels to perform, records new music, and teaches others how to play the fiddle.

Maeve Donnelly's Music Albums

Maeve Donnelly has released many albums, both on her own and with other musicians. Here are some of her recordings:

• Sailing Into Walpole's Marsh - This album was released in 1977 with Mairéad Ní Domhnaill, Sean Corcoran, and Eddie Clarke.
• Moving Cloud - In 1995, she released this album with the group Moving Cloud, which included Paul Brock, Manus McGuire, Kevin Crawford, and Carl Hession.
• Foxglove - Another album with Moving Cloud, released in 1998.
• Her Infinite Variety - This was a compilation album featuring various Celtic women artists, released in 1998.
• Éigse Dhiarmuidín - A compilation album of live concert recordings from 2001.
• Maeve Donnelly - Her self-titled album, released in 2002.
• The Thing Itself - Released in 2004, this album was a collaboration with Peadar O'Loughlin.
• Flame On The Banks - In 2008, Maeve released this album with the talented musician Tony McManus.
  • You can find a musical analysis of the songs on this album here.