RITA CONNOLLY

Rita Connolly comes from a musical Dublin family. As a teenager she sang with her sisters, appearing in Dublin folk venues including the Universal Folk Club. Early in her career she regularly performed with Midnight Well.

Rita Connolly and Shaun Davey have worked together since 1977 when, as a young backing vocalist,  she joined the recording sessions for the BBC production of ‘Cathchpenny Twist’. Since then she has collaborated with Shaun on many projects,  making her unforgettable solo debut in The Pilgrim (suite for celtic soloists and orchestra) at the Lorient Interceltic Festival in 1983. So striking was the beauty of her singing of ‘A ‘ Ghrian’ - ‘Hymn to the Sun’ - before a Breton audience of 5000 , that two years later she returned to Lorient as soloist in a song suite specially-composed for her. This was the popular and evocative ‘Granuaile’, which tells the story of Grace O’Malley, the legendary 16th century Irish woman chieftain and captain of war galleys who opposed English rule in Mayo. Ripples in the Rockpools from Granuaile,  has since become a regular feature in the Irish National school syllabus.

Rita Connolly’s leading roles in The Pilgrim and Granualie, and the recordings of both on the Tara label, established her reputation in Ireland as a one of the country’s finest singers. She collaborated with other artists including Midnight Well, Bill Whelan, Andy Irvine. Her work with Shaun Davey continued, however, with ‘The White Horse’ in The Relief of Derry Symphony, and in 1990, she recorded the song for which she has perhaps become best-known, The Deer’s Cry with words from St Patrick’s Breastplate, a prayer for protection on pilgrimage, and for all who travel on life’s journey. In 2011 she sang The Deer’s Cry  at the inauguration of the Irish President, Michael D Higgins.

During the years 2006-2008 Rita Connolly performed each summer in Shaun Davey’s concerts with the RTENSO at the National Concert Hall, Dublin, and in 2010 toured with the  Irish National Youth Orchestra as soloist in Granuaile. From 2007 Rita Connolly performed with Béal Tuinne, a band formed in West Kerry to perform songs based on poems in Irish by Caomhín Ó Cinneide, and in the ‘Intimate Evening Quartet’ with Gerry O’Beirne and Eóin Ó Beaglaioch. In 2009 she developed her role as soloist in Voices from the Merry Cemetery, performing at the premiere in the Sibiu International Theatre Festival with the Sibiu Romanian Orthodox male choir, and at Sapanta parish churchyard, Maramures. In 2010 she joined the RTECO for a performance of the Merry Cemetery songs in St Patrick’s Cathedral. There she also performed Shaun Davey’s suite of Christmas carols and led the concert finale The Starlit Sky. The next year she travelled to Bucharest for a performance of the same programme in the hallowed Romanian concert hall, the Ateneul Roman, with the Romanian National Youth Orchestra and the Orthodox Cathedral and Male Voice choirs from Sibiu. In 2013 she featured in the frontline with the Ulster Orchestra in the closing concert of Derry’s year as European City of Culture. In 2014 she sang in the NCH Dublin in the premiere of Shaun Davey’s Sunt Angelis which again also featured Pr Sorin Dobre and the Men’s Choir from Sibiu University.

In 1992 Rita Connolly recorded the first of two solo albums for Tara Records (‘Rita Connolly’ and ‘Valparaiso’, both produced by Shaun Davey).These included several of her own songs - Close your eyes, Valparaiso - standards such as Stormy Weather, Shaking the blues away, folk classics Venezuela, Factory Girl, Same Old Man, The Quiet land of Erin, plus songs by Sonny Condell and Leo O’Kelly. Guest artists include Davy Spillane, Liam O’FLynn, The Voice Squad, harpist Helen Davies and the Danish trumpeter Palle Mikkelborg.

Rita Connolly at the Ateneul Roman, Bucharest

In 2015 Rita Connolly developed her role of vocal soloist in Nora Barnacle, a song cycle portraying the life and times of Nora Barnacle, wife of the famous Irish writer, James Joyce. The songs were specially composed for her by Shaun Davey in collaboration with poet Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill and the National Concert Hall, Dublin. The premiere took place on ‘Bloomsday’, 16th June, 2015 before a capacity audience.

Concert dvd clips can be seen at;