Dolores Keane returns to Westport

MAYO BOUND Dolores Keane at her home in Caherlistrane. Pic: Ray Ryan

Henry McGlade

Dolores Keane has just announced a major tour that will include a stop off in Hotel Westport on Monday, August 1 – her only Mayo date. The Galway singer will be performing with special guest, her husband John Falkner.
A member of one of Ireland’s most-respected singing families, Dolores is known for her incredible voice, which boasts some of the sweetest tones in Celtic music.
Her musical career began at a very early age. By the time she was five, she was already singing with her aunts, Sarah and Rita Keane, well-known singers of old Irish ballads.
After Johnny Moynihan invited her to join his new band, De Danann, she stayed with the group for four years.
Dolores emigrated to England in the late ’70s and married guitar, bouzouki and mandolin player Faulkner. In addition to singing together, they worked on several documentary videos for the BBC.
Keane’s debut solo album, ‘There Was a Maid’, released in 1978, featured musical accompaniment by Reel Union, a tradition-based band that featured the late bodhran player of the Chieftains, Peador Mercier, and East Galway fiddler Martin Byrnes.
Her second album, ‘Brokenhearted I’ll Wander’, released in 1979, was a collaborative effort with Faulkner. Keane briefly joined the Irish trad rock band Planxty in 1983. She returned to De Dannan in the mid ’80s, recording with two different line-ups of the group, including the 1987 line-up that also featured Irish vocalist Mary Black. In 1989, Keane was featured vocalist on The Chieftains’ album ‘Bonaparte’s Retreat’.
Keane and Faulkner collaborated on two additional albums: ‘Farewell to Eireann’ and ‘Sail Og Rua’. Keane’s subsequent solo albums include ‘Lion in a Cage’, ‘Dolores Keane’ and ‘Solid Ground’ and a greatest-hits collection, ‘The Best of Dolores Keane’.

Tickets €25. Doors open 7.30pm.