Mary O'Hara
Encyclopedia
Mary O'Hara is an Irish soprano and harpist from County Sligo. O'Hara achieved fame on both sides of the Atlantic in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Her recordings of that period influenced a generation of Irish female singers who credit O'Hara with influencing their style, among them Carmel Quinn
, Mary Black
, and Moya Brennan
, among others. In his autobiography Memoirs of an Irish Troubadour (2002) Liam Clancy
wrote how O'Hara's music inspired and influenced him and others of the Folk Revival period.
's annual Music and Drama singing competition, at the age of eight and made before she left school at the age of 16. She went on to perform at Edinburgh International Fringe Festival with the Dublin University Players, BBC's Quite Contrary and The Ed Sullivan Show
, before she starred in her own BBC television series. Her first recording contract was with Decca Records
. Part of her extensive music career included Mary spending a considerable amount of time on the Aran Islands
collecting folk music and acquiring fluent Gaelic.
poet
Richard Selig by Irish poet Thomas Kinsella
and she married Selig in 1956. She moved to America with him where her star continued to grow. When Selig died of Hodgkin's disease only 15 months after their marriage, O'Hara continued to tour and record for four years.
In 1962, she became a nun
at Stanbrook Abbey
, where she lived for 12 years. Her wedding band was melted down and made into a ring to celebrate her final vows as a nun in 1967.
Her initial speedy rise to fame was repeated in 1974 when she left the order and returned to performing. In a matter of months, she become one of the biggest international recording stars to come out of Ireland.
Her autobiography
is entitled The Scent of the Roses. The title is taken from one of her favourite songs by the Irish poet Thomas Moore
. Her other books include A Celebration of Love and the coffee table book
A Song for Ireland A Song for Ireland.
O'Hara continued her singing career for a further 16 years retiring from performing in 1994. In 1985, she re-married, to Dr Pádraig O'Toole, who was instrumental in the development of her career from 1974. They spent six years in Tanzania
where Dr O'Toole taught at the Tanzania School of Journalism (University of Dar es Salaam). A musical play about O'Hara's life, Harp on the Willow, was a great success in Australia
in early 2007. Mary O'Hara completed 5 volumes of her harp accompaniments. O'Hara still travels giving talks (Travels with My Harp). Some recent talks have been at the Yeats International Summer School, Sligo (2007), the O'Carolan Festival, Knobber (2008), Northern Lights Harp Festival, Ottawa
(2009), NYU (2009), Boston College (2009) and elsewhere. The Burns Library at Boston College
houses her papers and held a "Mary O'Hara" exhibition ending 30 April 2010.
With her husband, she now resides part of the time in a 17th century thatched cottage in Berkshire
, England
, and on the Aran Islands
overlooking Kilronan harbour.
, the son of her sister, the late actress Joan O'Hara
(Eunice in Fair City on RTÉ-TV)
's 2008 single "Sleepyhead
".
Carmel Quinn
Carmel Quinn is an Irish entertainer who has appeared on Broadway, television and radio since coming to America in 1954.-Biography:...
, Mary Black
Mary Black
Mary Black is an Irish singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both folk and contemporary material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland, and in many other parts of the world....
, and Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan
Moya Brennan, born Máire Ní Bhraonáin , also known as Máire Brennan , is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist who began performing professionally in 1970, when her family formed the band Clannad, and is now widely considered as the "First Lady of Celtic Music"...
, among others. In his autobiography Memoirs of an Irish Troubadour (2002) Liam Clancy
Liam Clancy
William "Liam" Clancy was an Irish folk singer and actor from Carrick-on-Suir, County Tipperary. He was the youngest and last surviving member of performing group The Clancy Brothers. The group were regarded as Ireland's first pop stars...
wrote how O'Hara's music inspired and influenced him and others of the Folk Revival period.
Biography
Mary won her first competitions, SligoSligo
Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht...
's annual Music and Drama singing competition, at the age of eight and made before she left school at the age of 16. She went on to perform at Edinburgh International Fringe Festival with the Dublin University Players, BBC's Quite Contrary and The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan....
, before she starred in her own BBC television series. Her first recording contract was with Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. Part of her extensive music career included Mary spending a considerable amount of time on the Aran Islands
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...
collecting folk music and acquiring fluent Gaelic.
Personal life
She was introduced to AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Richard Selig by Irish poet Thomas Kinsella
Thomas Kinsella
Thomas Kinsella is an Irish poet, translator, editor, and publisher.-Early life and work:Kinsella was born in Lucan, County Dublin. He spent much of his childhood with relatives in rural Ireland. He was educated in the Irish language at the Model School, Inchicore and the O'Connell Christian...
and she married Selig in 1956. She moved to America with him where her star continued to grow. When Selig died of Hodgkin's disease only 15 months after their marriage, O'Hara continued to tour and record for four years.
In 1962, she became a nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
at Stanbrook Abbey
Stanbrook Abbey
Stanbrook Abbey is an abbey built as a contemplative house for Benedictine nuns. It was founded in 1625 in Cambrai, Flanders, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, under the auspices of the English Benedictine Congregation.-History:...
, where she lived for 12 years. Her wedding band was melted down and made into a ring to celebrate her final vows as a nun in 1967.
Her initial speedy rise to fame was repeated in 1974 when she left the order and returned to performing. In a matter of months, she become one of the biggest international recording stars to come out of Ireland.
Her autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
is entitled The Scent of the Roses. The title is taken from one of her favourite songs by the Irish poet Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
. Her other books include A Celebration of Love and the coffee table book
Coffee table book
A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be oversized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for...
A Song for Ireland A Song for Ireland.
O'Hara continued her singing career for a further 16 years retiring from performing in 1994. In 1985, she re-married, to Dr Pádraig O'Toole, who was instrumental in the development of her career from 1974. They spent six years in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
where Dr O'Toole taught at the Tanzania School of Journalism (University of Dar es Salaam). A musical play about O'Hara's life, Harp on the Willow, was a great success in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in early 2007. Mary O'Hara completed 5 volumes of her harp accompaniments. O'Hara still travels giving talks (Travels with My Harp). Some recent talks have been at the Yeats International Summer School, Sligo (2007), the O'Carolan Festival, Knobber (2008), Northern Lights Harp Festival, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
(2009), NYU (2009), Boston College (2009) and elsewhere. The Burns Library at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
houses her papers and held a "Mary O'Hara" exhibition ending 30 April 2010.
With her husband, she now resides part of the time in a 17th century thatched cottage in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and on the Aran Islands
Aran Islands
The Aran Islands or The Arans are a group of three islands located at the mouth of Galway Bay, on the west coast of Ireland. They constitute the barony of Aran in County Galway, Ireland...
overlooking Kilronan harbour.
Relatives
Her nephew is playwright and author Sebastian BarrySebastian Barry
Sebastian Barry is an Irish playwright, novelist, and poet. He has been shortlisted twice for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction and has won the 2008 Costa Book of the Year....
, the son of her sister, the late actress Joan O'Hara
Joan O'Hara
Joan O'Hara was an Irish stage, film and television actress. She was a member of the renowned Abbey Players and performed in many plays in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, including those by Seán O'Casey, Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats...
(Eunice in Fair City on RTÉ-TV)
Influence in modern culture
O'Hara's recording of "Óró Mo Bháidín" is sampled in Passion PitPassion Pit
Passion Pit is an American electropop band from Cambridge, Massachusetts. The group, which formed in 2007, consists of Michael Angelakos , Ian Hultquist , Ayad Al Adhamy , Jeff Apruzzese and Nate Donmoyer...
's 2008 single "Sleepyhead
Sleepyhead (song)
"Sleepyhead" is the debut single from American electronic band Passion Pit, featured on their first EP, Chunk of Change. The single was released in 2008...
".
Discography
- Songs of Erin, Decca-Beltona 1957
- Love Songs of Ireland, Decca-Beltona 1958
- Songs of Ireland, Tradition-Everest 1958
- Songs of Ireland, Decca-Emerald 1967
- The Folk Song Tradition (one track), Tradition-Everest 1960
- Mary O'Hara's Ireland, Decca Emerald-Gem 1973
- Mary O'Hara's Scotland, Decca Emerald-Gem 1974
- Monday Tuesday, Decca Emerald-Gem 1977
- Songs for Children, Decca Emerald 1977
- Mary O'Hara at the Royal Festival HallRoyal Festival HallThe Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, Chrysalis 1977 - UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#37 - Focus on Mary O'Hara, Decca 1978
- Music Speaks Louder Than Words, Chrysalis 1978
- In Harmony, Chrysalis 1979
- Farewell, But Whenever / Reminiscing, Hammer 1979
- Tranquility, Warwick 1979 - UK #12
- The Last Rose Of Summer French Everest Records
- The Scent of Roses, Chrysalis 1980
- Colours, Images 1981
- A Song for Ireland, Valentine 1982
- Recital, Valentine 1983
- Live at Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Valentine 1983 - Live at National Gallery Dublin, Gael-Linn 1987
- Spread a Little Happiness, Telestar 1985
- Celebration of Love, Word 1989
- World of Music, EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
1989 - Mary O'Hara Song for Ireland, Shanachie RecordsShanachie RecordsShanachie Records was founded in 1976 by Richard Nevins and Dan Collins. According to Harvey Pekar , it is one of the largest independent record labels in the world, and is currently distributed by E1 Music. Starting as a label that specialized in fiddle music, they began releasing work by Celtic...
1993 - Down by the Glenside, RykodiscRykodiscRykodisc Records is an American record label. It is owned by Warner Music Group, operates as a unit of WMG's Independent Label Group and is distributed through Alternative Distribution Alliance.-Company history:...
1997 - Mary O'Hara at Carnegie HallCarnegie HallCarnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
, Sanctuary RecordsSanctuary RecordsSanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest independent music management company in the world...
2000