Órla Fallon
Órla Fallon can’t remember a time when she didn’t sing.
You’ll remember Fallon as one of the original members of Celtic Woman—she’s the one with the harp and the glorious voice. Like so many exceptional Irish musicians, Fallon grew up surrounded by the tradition.
“I’ve been singing since I was a very small child. I was singing before I could talk,” she says. “My love of music and singing was encouraged from a young age. My mother (Eileen) comes from Kerry, and her parents gave her a deep love of Irish language and folklore. When we were little, we would spend a good deal of time down in Kerry. Many of the songs I sing I learned from my grandmother (Bridget Clifford). I think of singing songs with her in the kitchen then, and singing the same songs now in America. I’ve never known anybody who has such a passion for the old traditional songs. I think she gave me the passion.”
You can hear that passion ringing through in Fallon’s stage shows (she’ll be at Bethlehem Musikfest on Thursday, October 6), her televised concerts, and on her albums, including the most recent, “My Land.”
Maybe Fallon was always going to be a talented singer. For that, she can thank her parents and grandparents. As a player of Celtic harp, she’s doubly gifted. And for that, she can thank the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny.
“I was a teenager, 13, when I started,” Fallon says. “I was really lucky. I went to a boarding school in Phoenix Park, Dublin, called Mount Sackville. It has a brilliant harping tradition. My mother was really excited when she heard about it. When I heard (one of) the nuns playing the tunes and found out she was friends with Derek Bell of the Chieftains, I just fell in love with it. If I had not gone there, my life would have been so different.”
With so much talent, it was clear from an early age that Fallon was never going to remain just a farmer’s daughter from Knockananna, County Wicklow.
Early on, she distinguished herself by winning the International Feis Ceoil in Dublin and the International Pan Celtic Competition for singing with harp accompaniment. And in 1996, she performed with the well-known Irish choral group Anuna.
She is, of course, best known as one of the original members of the definitive Irish “girl group,” Celtic Woman, with whom she performed from 2005 through 2008.
Fallon says she could still be with Celtic Woman, but, in that final year, after all the flash, it was time for something new.
“It was great to be part of something as successful as Celtic Woman, but I wanted to be in control of my own destiny,” she says. “It (Celtic Woman) is a big lavish production; I prefer a smaller, earthier production. I don’t believe you need a big massive production to reach out to people. And I can tell stories. I like telling stories. Then it’s really ‘me’ on stage.”
Fallon’s more intimate show these days is an engaging mix of Irish traditional music, mixed in with traditions from other places–including America.
“I like trying American songs. The band I have on tour with me are a very bluegrass-y band. I always call our show ‘a little melting pot.’ There’s a nice variety of songs. It’s nice, because it keeps it fresh. Music is a living thing.”
That she has become so popular in the United States is, for Fallon, the fulfillment of a dream she has entertained from an early age. “Someone once said to me, ‘There’s a big stage waiting for you in America.’ I always dreamed of coming to America and playing songs. I know it sounds cheesy, but I really am living the dream.”
And if you want to see Órla Fallon for free, have we got a contest for you. All you have to do is subscribe to our weekly e-alert known as Mickmail. (Alternatively, if you already subscribe, you can enter by forwarding Mickmail to a friend.) There are two pairs of tickets available, as well as a pretty nice consolation prize: four “My Land” CDs.
We pick the winners on Monday, September 26. So you gotta be quick.
