Beoga songstress/violinist Niamh Dunne has just launched her first solo album entitled “Portraits”. With master guitar player and producer Seán Óg Graham, Niamh’s first song album is a mix of traditional songs and folk material, much of which has its roots her hometown of Limerick.

The songs on this album have been selected to reflect the rich song tradition in Limerick, as well as some carefully chosen newly composed songs from some of folk music’s most prolific songwriters. Songs from Richard Thompson, John Spillane, Barry Kerr and Joe “Galway” Dolan are featured, who are all folk legends and highly respected songwriters. The album looks inwards, capturing the essence of a singer who is deeply rooted in the traditional songs of Ireland and Limerick, but also has global reach, exploring folk music as a broader genre. This album is, in its spirit, a collection of stories, stories of love and loss, of adventure, of longing and of reflection. These precious songs are matched with the brilliant musicianship of Trevor Hutchinson, Cathal Hayden, Catriona McKay, Kate Ellis, Eamon Murray and Barry Kerr.

She has been a member with the world renowned band Beoga for the last 8 years with whom she has toured extensively and recorded 3 CDs, including the Grammy short listed “The Incident” in 2009 and the Irish Echoes number 1 album of 2011, “how to tune a fish”. The Wall Street Journal describes them as “the most exciting new traditional band to emerge from Ireland this century.”

For more information: www.niamhdunne.com