Briege Murphy - Biography
Briege Murphy was born
and reared in the village of Forkhill in South Armagh, Northern Ireland,
where
she still lives with her husband and two daughters. Briege grew up on a farm
within a large family steeped in the musical tradition. Her mother Brigid
was,
unwittingly, a collector of songs and stories. Her brother Brian, a
well-known
traditional singer won the Ulster Championship for traditional singing
numerous
times. So it is no surprise that music plays a big part of Briege's life.
As a teenager Briege joined her local branch
of Comhaltas and often sang in their renowned sessions which is so typical
of
the Irish scene today. A few years back Briege began to write her own
contemporary folk/country ballads and when a demo of two of her songs were
played on a weekly BBC Folk Programme, listeners were asking for more. She
was
persuaded to get her collection of songs together and record an album
herself.
The album "The Longest Road" was released to critical acclaim, followed
by "The Sea and other Songs", which was named as one of the albums of the
year by Folk Roots magazine. Her third album "The Elm Wood" was welcomed
and greatly appreciated by a steadily growing fan base.
In September 2004 Briege releases a new
album entitled "From Now On". On this album she returns to her roots and
sings songs that she grew up with, combining her love of Irish traditional
and
American folk. Briege has performed at festivals from Cambridge to Cork and
Oslo to Ballyshannon. She continues to write and sing at festivals, art
centres
and folk clubs or anywhere a good ballad is appreciated. Her songs have been
recorded by artists like Niamh Parsons and Frances Black amongst
others. In November 2003 Briege represented Ireland in an International song
contest in Holland, singing one of her own compositions in Gaelic, coming
5th
out of 70 bands across Europe.
Various Arts/Folk-Festivals (ff) where Briege has
performed.
Ballyshannon ff
Manchester - Irish ff
Fiddlers Green ff
Banbridge Arts f
Newry Arts f
Lisburn f
Portaferry Tall Ships f
West Belfast Feile
Queens' at Belfast f
Cambridge ff
Mid Ulster ff
Isle of Arran ff
Boyle Arts
Cork ff
Letterkenny ff
Oslo-Irish ff
Clifden ff
Shetland ff
Quotations/Reviews
"Imagine
Mary Chapin Carpenter, with a distinctly Irish outlook. A storyteller, using
sensibly and carefully, the power of words to great effect and delivering
her
songs in a manner both disarming and unaffected."
John O'Regan - Music Journalist, Irish Music magazine, Folk
Roots, Rock `n' Reel. RTE, BBC.
"One of our more modest talents, Briege Murphy's lyrical
songs have been picked by several other singers."
Geoff Harden, Northern Ireland music
journalist and radio broadcaster, Irish Music magazine and Newsletter.
"Absolutely superb"
Robert Mc Millen, Irish News
newspaper.
"An Irish Nancy Griffiths, Briege's voice is comparable to
the best of the Irish female singers"
Living Tradition magazine.
"Lovely songs, great singing." The tape is a joy to hear"
Christy Moore
"An enchanting collection of songs"
The Argus newspaper Co. Louth
"If you love warm, sweet singing from the heart, with
absolutely perfect arrangements, you'll love this CD from Co. Armagh native
Briege Murphy.
Briege's clear lovely voice is well met by the instruments.
It is clear that a great deal of care and experience went into the songs and
arrangements, and it pays off nicely".
Paul Carr, the San Francisco Herald, about "The Elm Wood" CD
"Take time to sit and listen and enjoy the talent that
Briege Murphy portrays through her music"
The Anglo Celt newspaper.
"A beautiful album" Tommy Sands, Songwriter and radio host - The Elm Wood CD
"Briege Murphy has a way with words, par excellence"
Sarah McQuaid Hot Press magazine May 2003.
"She paints pictures with her
words" Frances Black
Award Winning Irish Singer.