Liam Ó Maonlaí
Encyclopedia
Liam Ó Maonlaí is an Irish musician best known as a member of the Hothouse Flowers
Hothouse Flowers
The Hothouse Flowers are an Irish rock group that combines traditional Irish music with influences from soul, gospel and rock.-Career:The group first formed in 1985 when Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna Ó Braonáin began performing as street musicians, or buskers, on the streets of Dublin,Ireland as "The...

. Ó Maonlaí formed the band in 1985 with his schoolmate Fiachna Ó Braonáin
Fiachna Ó Braonáin
Fiachna Ó Braonáin plays the guitar and sings vocals with the Irish band Hothouse Flowers. Born in Dublin, he received his school education at Scoil Lorcáin and Coláiste Eoin...

.

He attended Scoil Lorcáin
Scoil Lorcáin
Scoil Lorcáin is an all-Irish voluntary primary gaelscoil which is located in Monkstown, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It prides itself in the Irish culture and teaches all subjects except English through the means of the Irish language. The school is financed by resources from the Department...

 and Coláiste Eoin
Coláiste Eoin
Coláiste Eoin is an Irish language Catholic voluntary secondary Gaelscoil for boys, under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust located in Booterstown, County Dublin, Ireland. It prides itself in the Irish culture, having successful hurling and football teams, traditional music bands,...

, which is a Gaelscoil
Gaelscoil
A gaelscoil is an Irish-medium primary school in Ireland, of a sort found outside the traditionally Irish-speaking regions, especially in urban areas....

 on Dublin's southside, although he credits his father as his main Irish language influence. He is a fluent speaker of Irish. He won an under 18 all-Ireland award for his skills on the Bodhrán
Bodhrán
The bodhrán is an Irish frame drum ranging from 25 to 65 cm in diameter, with most drums measuring 35 to 45 cm . The sides of the drum are 9 to 20 cm deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side...

. In 1985, he won the Irish music award known as Gradam Shlogadh along with Hothouse Flowers bandamate. In 2005 he released a solo album entitled Rian which is a collection of tunes and songs in Irish Gaelic.

Ó Maonlai also formed a band called The Complex in the early days with childhood friend Kevin Shields and drummer Colm Ó Cíosóig. After Liam left to form the Hothouse Flowers in 1984, Shields and O'Ciosoig were joined by vocalist Dave Conway and keyboardist Tina (who used no surname), and renamed themselves My Bloody Valentine, taking their name from a low-budget horror film
My Bloody Valentine (film)
My Bloody Valentine is a 1981 Canadian slasher film released in the wake of the popularity of the slasher genre that had overtaken the 1970s...

.

Ó Maonlaí is also an active member of the Nuclear Free Future movement and contributed to the hosting of events in Carnsore and in Wexford Town in 2001. In 2004 he was a guest at the barefoot college which is located at Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...

, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. During his trip to India he played at the university in Jaipur
Jaipur
Jaipur , also popularly known as the Pink City, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. Founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, the city today has a population of more than 3.1 million....

 along with some of the local musicians.

Miscellaneous

  • Liam is the brother of the actor Colm Ó Maonlaí
    Colm Ó Maonlaí
    Colm Ó Maonlaí is an Irish born actor and musician who is best known for his portrayal of Tom Banks in EastEnders, a role which he played from April to November 2002. He has also been featured in other soap operas such as Ros na Rún and Fair City. In 2009, he appeared in a television advertisement...

     and the son of the actor Eithne Lydon.
  • In the mid 1990s, Liam formed a band with Tim Finn
    Tim Finn
    Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...

     and Andy White
    Andy White
    Andy White may refer to:* Andy White , Scottish studio drummer* Andy White , Irish singer/songwriter and poet...

     called ALT
    ALT (band)
    ALT was a one-off band, featuring former New Zealand band Split Enz frontman Tim Finn, Northern Irish singer/songwriter Andy White and the frontman of the Irish band Hothouse Flowers, Liam Ó Maonlaí, that recorded and played together in 1995....

     (the name being the initial letters of their names). ALT toured in the UK, New Zealand and Australia and released the album Altitude.
  • He sang on the song "The Parting Glass
    The Parting Glass
    "The Parting Glass" is an Irish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It was allegedly the most popular song sung in both Scotland and Ireland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne"....

    " on the soundtrack in the 1998 film Waking Ned
    Waking Ned
    Waking Ned is a 1998 comedy film by English writer and director Kirk Jones. It stars Ian Bannen, David Kelly and Fionnula Flanagan. Kelly was nominated for a Screen Actors' Guild award for his role as Michael O'Sullivan. The film is set in Ireland but was filmed on location in the Isle of Man...

    .
  • Liam sang a version of Rónán Ó Snodaigh
    Rónán Ó Snodaigh
    Rónán Ó Snodaigh is a musician, poet and vocalist from Dublin, Ireland. He is the lead vocalist in the musical group Kíla. He has released four albums to date, Playdays, Tonnta Ró, Tip Toe and The Last Mile Home...

    's song "Cathain" which is available on the greatest hits album of Dónal Lunny
    Dónal Lunny
    Dónal Lunny is an Irish folk musician. Lunny has been at the forefront of the evolution of traditional Irish music for more than thirty-five years and has participated within the renaissance of traditional Irish music in that time period...

    .
  • Liam sang a duet with The Rankin Family
    The Rankin Family
    The Rankin Family is a Canadian musical family group from Mabou, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The group has won many Canadian music awards, including 15 East Coast Music Awards, six Juno Awards, four SOCAN Awards, three Canadian Country Music Awards and two Big Country Music Awards.- Career...

     called "Grey Dusk of Eve (Portobello)". It was initially released in 1995 on a limited edition 5 song EP
    Grey Dusk of Eve
    Grey Dusk of Eve is a limited-edition EP by Canadian folk music group The Rankin Family, released by EMI in 1995. It peaked at number 29 on the RPM Top Albums chart...

    . It was also included on The Rankins' greatest hits albums Collection
    Collection (The Rankin Family album)
    Collection is the first greatest hits album by Canadian folk music group The Rankin Family. It was released by EMI in 1996. The album peaked at number 1 on the RPM Country Albums chart.-Track listing:#"Roving Gypsy Boy Remix" – 4:05...

    (1996) and Souvenir: 1989—1998
    Souvenir: 1989—1998
    Souvenir: 1989—1998 is the second greatest hits album by Canadian folk music group The Rankins. It was released by EMI on April 1, 2003. The album peaked at number 61 on the Canadian Albums Chart.-Disc 1:...

    (2002).
  • Liam worked on a song in St Peters College in Dunboyne (Co. Meath) in 2007 in correlation with Amnesty International
    Amnesty International
    Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...

    's Voice Our Concern project alongside the likes of bandleader Cian O' Mahony, guitarists Sean Creedon and Paul Killeen and multi-instrumentalists Joseph Curtis and Darragh Keane

Acting

  • The Busker (2006) – Patrick O'Mallie
  • Timbuktu (2004) – Conor
  • I Could Read the Sky
    I Could Read the Sky
    I Could Read the Sky is a 1999 Irish/UK film directed by Nichola Bruce. It is based upon a photographic novel by Timothy O'Grady and Steve Pyke, which concerns the Irish experience of emigration and exile. It has been described as an "innovative, melancholic, and deeply moving film"-Plot:The film...

    (1999) – Joe

External links

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