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Fil Campbell presents the songs, life and times of
Delia Murphy, Margaret Barry, Bridie Gallagher, Mary O’Hara and Ruby Murray

Songbirds - the First Ladies of Irish Song
A 6 part TV series now available on DVD, a Stage Show and accompanying CD
Purchase CD and DVD here

"The series has been a resounding success for RTE Television" Irish Mirror.

"This series takes an in depth look at world famous Irish female singers who where recording in and around the 1950s." Irish Independent - Pick of the Day.

"RTE have a real winner on their hands with the new Songbirds series." Irish Mirror.

"Campbell's warm lulling voice is eminently suited to old fashioned gems like 'Love's Old Sweet song' and “The Homes of Donegal”, and the musicianship is top notch". Evening Herald, Dublin

I am hugely indebted to these women whose lives I've shared over the past five years. Let me tell you a bit about the project and the characters involved.

Delia Murphy was without doubt the single most influential singer to have recorded traditional songs in Ireland and she influenced a generation of singers that followed her. In this series of documentaries made for RTE television and available through this website on DVD, Fil welcomes guests from the various strands of Irish music to reconstruct the biographies of Delia and the other first Irish ladies of song who were recording in and around the 1950s.

These were the singers that had the earliest influences on Fil and whose songs were the first she learned - first as a toddler, later at school and later still in her career as a travelling folk singer and songwriter. She has gathered together some of the finest musicians in Ireland (including John Sheehan, Steve Cooney and Laoise Kelly, Finbar Furey, Sean Keane, Tommy Sands, Steve Wickham, Rod McVey, James Blennerhassett, Tom McFarland, Seamus Brett, and Brendan Emmett), to rework some of these favourite songs and to provide the sound track for the shows. The music is produced by Tom McFarland.

Delia Murphy (1902 - 1971) was born and raised in Co. Mayo, and made her first recordings in 1938 - The Spinning Wheel and 3 Lovely Lasses from Bannion coming from the earliest batch. She became Ireland's first and arguably greatest musical ambassador and her contribution to the folk revival of the 50s and 60s was immeasurable. Her simple ballad style and endearing presentation on stage made her an almost overnight success on radio. Married to diplomat Tom Kiernan, Delia travelled the world, finally settling in Canada, only returning to live in Ireland in 1969.

There is an excellent biography of Delia available, called "I'll LIve Til I Die".. It is a wonderful account of an extraordinary woman written by the broadcaster Aidan O'Hara. It can be purchased at www.drumlinpublications.com

And Delia's website is maintained by her grandson, the uilleann piper Ronan Browne. http://www.deliamurphy.com/

Bridie Gallagher was born in 1924 in the North of Donegal and began her singing career singing at local dances and concerts. Her first single record "A Mother's Love's A Blessing" was released in 1956, becoming an immediate success in Ireland and Britain and leading to her first LP - "The Girl from Donegal" - which quickly became the name that Bridie would be known by for the rest of her life. This included her most famous recording, "The Boys from the Co. Armagh". Bridie has sold millions of records in a career that spanned the entire second half of the 20th century and has influenced generations of country and Irish stars including Daniel O'Donnell. Bridie retired from performing in 2000.

Mary O'Hara is a singer and harpist with an instantly recognizable, pure soprano voice, who achieved fame both sides of the Atlantic in the late 50s and early 1960s and influenced a generation of Irish female singers in the 70s . Born in Sligo in 1935, she married the American poet Richard Selig at the age of 21 and moved to America with him where her star continued to grow. Sadly, Richard died only 15 months after their marriage, and while she continued to tour and record for nearly 4 years Mary eventually joined an English monastery in 1962 where she lived for 12 years. Returning to performance in 1974 Mary's initial speedy rise to fame was repeated and in a matter of months she become one of the biggest international stars ever to come out of Ireland.
Mary's autobiography "The Scent of the Roses" is still available.

And there is an excellent new website with lots of her music - www.maryohara.co.uk

Margaret Barry (1917-1989) was a colourful, larger than life character who is fondly remembered by anyone who ever heard her unique style of street singing. Born in Cork, Margaret's family were travellers who had settled in the city. Self taught on the banjo, she played the length and breadth of Ireland from a very young age. She was discovered and recorded by song collector Peter Kennedy in 1951 singing in Dundalk Market and was eventually brought to England by the American song collector Alan Lomax. Maggie teamed up with Sligo fiddle player Michael Gorman with whom she made several recordings. IN later life she returned to live in Ireland where she continued to busk and perform in concerts. Her many recordings have left a wonderful legacy of both well known come-all-yes and traditional songs.

Ruby Murray (1935-1996), from Belfast, went into the record books in 1955 for having 5 songs in the Top Twenty in the same week - "Heartbeat", "Softly, Softly", "Let Me Go Lover", "Happy Days and Lonely Nights", and "If Anyone Finds This I Love You "- a record which has never been, and probably never will be, surpassed. Ruby is dearly loved by fans and is remembered for her humour and beautiful voice. The excellent website www.rubymurray.org has lots more information about her life.

Check out more about Ruby at www.rubymurray.org

Songbirds Project Summary