Maireid Sullivan

Mairéid Sullivan has been singing since her childhood in West Cork, Ireland. Mairéid (rhymes with 'parade') was born on a farm at Lisheens, Kealkill, about four miles from Bantry Bay. "Music was everywhere. My father was a master horseman and a wonderful tenor who encouraged me to sing. My mother taught me traditional songs." Upon returning to Melbourne, Australia, after seven years traveling the world and other places, Mairéid and Ben met up with musical friends to record their latest CD, Never Drift Apart. “Our vision for Never Drift Apart was to create a comforting and energizing canopy of sound for the listener, recreating the experience my mother created for me when she sang me to sleep as a child, a memory that has nurtured me all through my life. Each song is a world unto itself: songs of joy, struggle and hope." Mairéid has received excellent reviews for her two earlier solo recordings, For Love's Caress (1998) and Dancer (1994, produced by Donal Lunny). She appears on several best-selling Celtic music recordings, including a duet concert recording, A Celtic Evening, with Derek Bell, the harper with the Chieftains. She is the author of Celtic Women in Music (1999). The second volume is due for publication. Ancient Self - Memoirs, a poetry collection, was published in 1997. Mairéid has been working on a documentary film about the spirit of Irish musical culture, while creating an accompaning book and DVD. To see the photo-journal, click on Filming in Ireland. To see brief Quicktime film clips, featuring interviews with seven Irish artists, click here. Maireid and Ben have won awards for their feature length art film, Time after Time, filmed in Ireland, North America and Australia. You can view an eight minute preview here. Mairéid is a student of history, with a special interest in Celtic culture. Her poetry, essays and articles have appeared in many publications, including Martin Melhulish's Celtic Tides (1999) and Hugh Downs’ My America (2002). Mairéid is the eldest of seven brothers and sisters. She has a daughter, Brigette. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.