Celtic Woman: The women behind the Irish musical phenomenon

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

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These songs and “Galway Bay,” another melancholy rumination on the dreamlike coastline of Ireland’s West, describe perfectly the romanticized view that many Americans have long held of Ireland and of Celtic culture. When I asked the women if they thought Celtic Woman fit into an American perception of Celtic Ireland, their answer was a qualified yes. Alex admits, “I guess there is a romantic side to the Celtic Woman image. It does have a very pure and quite a magical, spiritual feel to it. Ireland has been associated so much with its myths and legends…of course, being here, especially in [Dublin], you do have a different take on it, as you do anywhere in the world.” 

Celtic acts like Celtic Woman and Riverdance may continue to be hugely popular for sentimental and nostalgic reasons, but what sets Celtic Woman apart is their acknowledgment and portrayal of the Irish-American connection through their performances. This is perhaps the most poignant message taken from their latest CD, Songs from the Heart, as well as the gratitude of Celtic Woman to their American fan base. Their last tour, the Isle of Hope tour, was named after the song “The New Ground – Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears” which appears on their latest album. Written by Brendan Graham, who also has penned the lyrics for “You Raise Me Up,” the song tells the story of the mass immigration to America by the Irish through the story of Annie Moore, the first girl to walk onto Ellis Island at only fifteen years old. The title and chorus refer not only to America and Ellis Island, an “isle of hope” for millions, but also of the home they left.

“During the Famine days a lot of Irish people immigrated to America looking for opportunities because Ireland was in such an awful state,” Lynn says. “But also they thought someday they might return home to Ireland, that Ireland might be habitable again.” The song ends with the speaker coming to America, imagining herself a successor to Annie Moore. The history of the Irish in America is a long and varied one, and “Isle of Hope, Isle of Tears” grasps some of that complexity.

“O, America!” too is a testament to the Irish-American connection and, more generally, a thanks to an enthusiastic American fan base. Composed by Graham and William Joseph, the song is a patriotic oath that in its simplicity reveals something about our shared history: the same hope for opportunity that has defined the American dream has also defined the Irish experience in America. The appeal of these songs and of Celtic Woman is that they represent something familiar but also something still worth dreaming about, a dream of home.

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