Celtic Woman: The women behind the Irish musical phenomenon

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

17 Comments

Lisa Kelly, Lynn Hilary, Máiread Nesbitt, Alex Sharpe and Chloe Agnew of Celtic Woman.

Tweet

It’s no secret that America has had a long-standing relationship with Ireland, politically, culturally, and of course musically. With the Irish diaspora in America at about 45 million people, there is a secure space for a crossover group like Celtic Woman to thrive. Perhaps no one knows this better than David Downes, the creator of Celtic Woman and former musical director of Riverdance.

Building upon the massive success of Riverdance in the U.S., Downes decided to return to Celtic-influenced music and dance but this time in the format of an all-female lineup, similar to that of pop groups like Girls Aloud and the Spice Girls. The structure, however, is where the similarities end – the members of Celtic Woman are trained in everything from classical to theatrical to traditional Irish singing, with formally trained Máiréad Nesbitt on fiddle.

Máiréad, Lynn, and Lisa had stints on Michael Flatley’s dance shows, Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, while Alex Sharpe began her career playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at Olympia Theatre in Dublin. Chloë Agnew, the youngest member at 20 years old, got her big break when she recorded a single with David Downes shortly after 9/11 to help American and Afghanistani children and raised over 20,000 pounds.

When they aren’t touring or making promotional appearances, the women of Celtic Woman spend time with their families and often work on other interests. Chloë, for instance, completed high school “with flying colors” in the early years of Celtic Woman and is now taking an online college course in child psychology. Lisa, who had her third child, Ellie, in 2008, balances life on tour with family time. “A lot of hard work goes into the balance of it, but I’m very lucky because I have a huge support group [her children] with me on the road.” She humbly added, “But it’s no harder than balancing any other career with three children, it’s just that I have to do it in a hotel room and on a bus. They enjoy it and that’s the main thing. They’re learning and seeing places they might never see again.”

Lynn Hilary released a solo album in 2008 called Take Me With You and Máiréad Nesbitt is currently working on her second solo album. 

With lives as full and varied as these, it’s hard to see how five women with different personalities come together to make such harmonious music. The members have resounding praise for David Downes in this respect, who controls the look, sound, and production of Celtic Woman in a way that is extremely polished but allows the musicians’ individuality to come through. “Each of the girls are an entity in themselves and I think that’s what makes it personal for an audience,” said Alex. “The fans have built up a relationship with these girls and they have their own favorites.”

Print

E-mail

Tweet