Caitriona O'Leary

Caitríona O'Leary is an internationally renowned singer known for her work in traditional Irish music, folk songs, and early music. A native of Donegal, Ireland, she began her recording career in the mid-'90s with a performance of Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas, which was followed by several outings with the early music group Sequentia. In 1997 she began the first of several collaborations with another early music ensemble, the Harp Consort. She formed her own group, Dúlra, at the turn of the millennium and began to shift her focus to traditional Irish song, with sources ranging from Renaissance to contemporary music. The group released a pair of critically acclaimed albums in 2000 and 2001 even as O'Leary continued to work with other early music groups like the London-based ensemble Joglaresa. The year 2012 would prove to be a watershed in her career as she reunited with Dúlra to release Ecstasy, a collection of traditional Irish songs of joy and rapture. That same year she also released Shipwrecked, the debut by her eclectic new group eX, as well as a double album with the Dublin Drag Orchestra. Continuing to juggle her numerous projects, she worked with Grammy-winning American producer Joe Henry to release a 2014 crossover project called The Wexford Carols, which included collaborations with Tom Jones and Rosanne Cash, among others.