Idir Dha Chomhairle - In Two Minds

The people of the Déise, that beautiful countryside which spans Co. Waterford and South Tipperary, have inhaled the breath of poetry from earliest times Traditional singers like the late Nioclás Tóibín and Labhrás Ó Cadhla are not only links in the strong oral tradition of the area but also help to present it to a wider audience. Indeed it was Nioclás Tóibín’s singing of ‘Sliabh na mBan’, ‘Eochaill’ and ‘Máirín de Barra’ on a Gael Linn record issued in 1964 that prompted Áine to learn the words of her first song in Irish though she understood little of its meaning. All this was taking place in Belfast where Ann McPartland was born to Pauline Nic Craith from Ring and Joe McPartland, a native of that city. During her school years her father, himself blessed with a fine voice, and her mother encouraged her to learn classical violin and piano. It was when she finished her formal studies that snatches of Irish songs she had heard as a child from her mother, Pauline, began to influence her musical direction. Her marriage and subsequent move to Ring in 1982 where she now lives immersed her fully in the traditions of the Gaeltacht. In the past ten years Áine’s reputation as a traditional singer has grown steadily. She found a platform as a solo singer at An tOireachtas and it was at this gathering in Ennis in 1990 that she won Comórtas na mBan and the prestigious Corn Uí Riada. Áine again won Corn Uí Riada at An tOireachtas in Dingle in 1992. Since then she continues to be one of the most popular singers at singing festivals and workshops at home and abroad. The English songs on this recording come from the Ulster singing tradition; the songs in the Irish language are firmly rooted in the Ring Gaeltacht (Gaell-Linn)