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.
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Briege Murphy |
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