Altan: Ирландская народная группа из Донегола

Irish folk music band

Altan are an Irish folk music band formed in County Donegal in 1987 by lead vocalist Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and her husband Frankie Kennedy. The group were primarily influenced by traditional Irish language songs from Donegal and have sold over a million records. The group were the first traditional Irish group to be signed to a major label when they signed with Virgin Records in 1994. The group has collaborated with Dolly Parton, Enya, The Chieftains, Bonnie Raitt, Alison Krauss, and many others.

As an 18 year old young student and musician from Belfast, Frankie Kennedy used to travel to Gweedore, County Donegal on his summer holidays, learning Irish and playing traditional Irish music on Irish flute and tin whistle. There he met native 14 year old Irish speaker and musician Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, the daughter of musician Proinsias Ó Maonaigh from Gweedore and the two fell in love with each other but Ní Mhaonaigh being very young, an innocent friendship began. When she was 15, she was allowed to go to dances under her brother Gearóid Ó Maonaigh's watchful eye, and gradually Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh became a couple. They both took jobs as trainee teachers at St. Patrick's College in Dublin. In 1979, the two musicians made their recording debut as accompanists for the well known Belfast singer and Gaelic enthusiast Albert Fry on his self titled debut album. (In total, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy would feature on the first three albums of Albert Fry.) Two years later, in 1981, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy graduated from college and married when Mairéad was 21.

Kennedy and Ní Mhaonaigh had moved to Dublin and were both teaching at St. Oliver Plunkett primary school in Malahide. At the time, they were also playing music in the folk clubs around Dublin. with Kennedy, Gearóid Ó Maonaigh (Mairéad's brother) and a then unknown musician from Gweedore, Eithne Ní Bhraonáin, later known as Enya. People became interested in their repertoire of Donegal tunes. Inspired by the success of their debut effort, they began to work on a new group of ballads and jigs from the North. The result was the album Altan, released in 1987 on the Green Linnet Records label, named after a lake which sits in the shadow of Errigal near Gweedore, County Donegal. In the Irish language, altan also means "stream". The album features many of the musicians who would later join the band.

Shortly after the release in 1987 of Altan, their second studio album, Ní Mhaonaigh and Kennedy named their ensemble "Altan" after the name of the album, the band's line up remaining unchanged as a quartet including Kennedy on flute, Ní Mhaonaigh on fiddle and vocals, Ciarán Curran on bouzouki and Mark Kelly on guitar. Later on, Dublin's Paul O'Shaughnessy joined the band on fiddle, participating in the first three Green Linnet recordings (1989–1992). In 1992, Ciarán Tourish on fiddle & whistle and Dáithí Sproule on guitar joined the band for the Harvest Storm recording. With the arrival of Dáithí Sproule, Mark and Dáithí shared the role of guitarist, Mark touring with the band in Europe and Dáithí in the United States. In 1994, they were asked by US President Bill Clinton to perform at the White House on Saint Patrick's Day, and they played for him again on his visit to Ireland in 1998. Also, President of Ireland Mary McAleese requested they accompany her on several State visits.

While battling with cancer, Frankie Kennedy continued to steer the band to international recognition, negotiating with Virgin Records UK to sign the band. Frankie Kennedy died on 19 September 1994. After a period of mourning, the band resumed their touring as requested by Kennedy himself before he died. They became the first traditional group to be signed to a major label when they signed with Virgin Records. The recording line up became Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh (vocals, fiddle), Ciarán Tourish (fiddle), Mark Kelly (guitar), Ciarán Curran (bouzouki), Dáithí Sproule (guitar) and Dermot Byrne (accordion) and remained unchanged until Dermot Byrne's departure in 2013. In 1995, Green Linnet Records released Altan's first greatest hits package titled The First Ten Years. In April 1996, Altan released Blackwater, their first album on Virgin Records. In July 1997, Altan released their next album, Runaway Sunday, which featured their version of "Gleanntáin Ghlas' Ghaoth Dobhair", a song written by Mairéad's father and a favourite at all their live shows.

In 2000, the group released Another Sky, their first album on the Narada label. In 2002, The Blue Idol featured the vocals of American singer Dolly Parton, who became close friends with the group after she invited them to play on her 2001 album Little Sparrow. The album garnered them the award for Best Group at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. In 2002, Altan, along with other artists signed to Green Linnet such as Cherish the Ladies, sued for unpaid royalties. Most artists were paid and most claims were settled in 2006 as Compass Records (who would later sign Altan) bought the company. In 2003, they released another greatest hits compilation CD called The Best of Altan: The Songs. In 2005, they released Local Ground which met with positive reviews. Altan then went on hiatus. Some members released their debut solo album: Ciarán Tourish released Down The Line (2005), Dáithí Sproule released The Crow in the Sun (2007) and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh released Imeall (2009).

In April 2009, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh announced that the band would be going into the studio in early May 2009 to record a new Altan album with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra just after a show on 7 May 2009 in Pornichet, France (near Saint Nazaire). In July 2009, Ní Mhaonaigh announced that Altan would also release their first DVD as the video recording of a concert on 14 August 2009 in the National Concert Hall (NCH), Dublin, Ireland (again with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra). To commemorate their 25th anniversary, Altan released 25th Anniversary Celebration, a compilation album of studio re recordings of previous material (plus one brand new song) with the contribution of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. It was made available in January 2010 in Japan (where it had its launch in December 2009 during Altan's Winter 2009/2010 Japanese tour), in February 2010 in Ireland and UK and in March 2010 in North America. After a few European dates in January, February and April 2010 and an extensive 18 date (March to April) tour of the United States, Altan launched on 23 April 2010 in Dublin, Ireland their 14 date "25th Anniversary" tour of Ireland which would run from April to June. During Summer 2010, Altan took part in a few European festivals. A 10 date tour of UK and Ireland took place in September 2010.

From April 2011 to January 2012, Altan recorded a new studio album titled Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen. After celebrating the launch of the 18th Frankie Kennedy Winter School programme on 29 November 2011 by performing a show taking place during the Liffey Banks Sessions at The Grand Social, Dublin, Ireland, Altan celebrated the New Year 2012, then forthcoming release of their new studio album Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen on the occasion of their performance on 1 January 2012 at Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy, Ionad Cois Locha, Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland during which they played some new tracks from it. Exactly seven years after Local Ground, Altan released Gleann Nimhe – The Poison Glen, their new studio album of original material, on Compass Records in the US on 28 February 2012, in Europe & Australia on 8 March 2012, in Ireland on 9 March 2012 and in the UK on 12 March 2012. Started in April 2011, the recording took place in famous sound engineer & bass player Billy Robinson's Steeples Studios in Ramelton, Ireland and ended in early January 2012. The album features An Ghealóg, a song composed by Martin Tourish who would later join the band replacing Dermot Byrne, temporarily starting from the Autumn 2013 (mostly) German tour and permanently since Dermot Byrne's departure from the band in early 2014.

On 23 February 2018, Altan embarked on a new (one month) North American tour. On 2 March 2018, Altan released their new studio album entitled The Gap Of Dreams which they had recorded in November 2017. On 15 March 2020, Altan announced that their on going US Spring Tour 2020 had come to a halt because of the coronavirus situation and that they had got advice to return to Ireland as soon as possible. Altan's booking agency was due to reschedule all the 9 remaining (15–29 March 2020) concerts for the following Autumn 2020 or next Spring 2021 but the pandemic prevented it. Nevertheless, it appears that Altan performed their last two scheduled shows in Ireland on 18 April 2020 at Copper Coast TradFest in Dunhill, County Waterford and on 24 April 2020 at Club Ceol Aislann in Kilcar, County Donegal. Besides, Altan's bus tour with Hammond Tours scheduled for 12–19 September 2020 might have happened as well. After a unique 2021 show on 26 November 2021 at Áislann Chill Chartha, Kilcar, Co. Donegal and their annual week residence at Scoil Gheimhridh Ghaoth Dobhair, Ghaoth Dobhair (also Co. Donegal) from 27 December 2021 to 1 January 2022, Altan resumed touring in March 2022, performing 3 shows in London and 3 shows in France this month, and another 6 shows in Ireland from March to October. Two extensive (23 date) US Autumn and (15 date) US Spring tours ensued, respectively in October–November 2022 and March 2023 (after a unique show in Ireland on 3 February 2023 at Seamus Heaney HomePlace, Bellaghy, Magherafelt, County Londonderry). These new US dates marked Altan's first shows in the US in two and a half years (since the aborted US Spring Tour in March 2020). Since then, Altan embarked on a 4 show tour of Ireland in Spring and Summer 2023 and performed 2 shows in France: on 1 April 2023 at La Coursive (scène nationale), La Rochelle, Nouvelle Aquitaine and with l'Orchestre National de Bretagne on 9 August 2023 at the Lorient Interceltic Festival, Lorient, Brittany. Born in Glasgow with her family roots firmly entrenched in the Donegal Gaeltacht (Derrynamansher), fiddle player Clare Friel permanently joined Altan in July 2023. She is the first female member to join the band since Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh since the band's start. A former Gradaim Cheoil Young Musician of the Year winner, Clare Friel is from The (Anna, Sheila and Clare) Friel Sisters and from The SíFiddlers.

On 24 January 2024, Altan performed at the Glasgow Celtic Connections with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Scottish fiddle female quartet RANT." A 5 date tour of Ireland ensued: starting on 26 January in Dublin at Temple Bar Tradfest, it included concerts on 1st February with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra in Kildare at the C. Kildare St. Brigid's Cathedral and on 2nd February in Galway at the Town Hall Theatre. It is due to include a performance on 23 February at the Belfast Winter Tradfest and to end on 3 March 2024 in Killarney at the Gathering Traditional Irish Music Festival. Altan is due to embark on a 15 date US tour on 8 March 2024 in Sacramento at Sofia Tsakopoulos Center, due to end on 27 March 2024 in Chicago at the Old Town School of Folk Music. On 7 February 2024, It was officially announced the upcoming release on 1st March 2024 on Compass Records of Altan's new studio album entitled Donegal. This is their first studio album to be released in 6 years. The announcement reads: "Donegal captures the essence of the region which has inspired Altan since the band's inception and further cements Altan's legacy as one of the great cultural treasures of Ireland."

For almost two decades (from December 1994 to January 2014), a winter school of music called Scoil Gheimhridh Frankie Kennedy (The Frankie Kennedy Winter Music School) was held each year in Gaoth Dobhair (Gweedore), County Donegal in honour of co founder Frankie Kennedy. Ni Mhaonaigh is regarded as one of the great female singers of Ireland, standing alongside Mary Black, Moya Brennan and Sinéad O'Connor.