Altan are an Irish folk and traditional musical group, who originated in Gweedore, County Donegal. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 55. ... Statistics Province: Ulster Dáil Éireann: Donegal North East, Donegal South West County Town: Lifford Code: DL Area: 4,841 km² Population (2006) 146,956 Website: www. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A tradition is a story or a custom that is memorized and passed down from generation to generation, originally without the need for a writing system. ... Folk song redirects here. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh is the lead vocalist for famed Irish traditional band Altan. ... Frankie Kennedy (1955 - 19 September 1994) was an Irish flute and tin whistle player and a cofounder of the band Altan, with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, his wife. ... Folk can refer to a number of different things: It can be short for folk music, or, for folksong, or, for folklore; it may be a word for a specific people, tribe, or nation, especially one of the Germanic peoples; it might even be a calque on the related German... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference B847228 Statistics Province: Ulster County: Dáil Éireann: Donegal South West Dialling Code: 074, +000 353 74 Population (2002)  - Town:  - Rural:   1,388  1,253 Website: http://www. ... Statistics Province: Ulster Dáil Éireann: Donegal North East, Donegal South West County Town: Lifford Code: DL Area: 4,841 km² Population (2006) 146,956 Website: www. ...

History

Frankie Kennedy used to travel from Belfast to Donegal in his summer holidays, learning Irish and playing music. There he met Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh. They married in 1981. They featured on the first of well known Belfast singer and Irish language enthusiast Albert Fry's three albums. Two years later they made their first album together, Ceol Aduaidh (Music of the North). Ní Mhaonaigh grew up in Irish-speaking Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair), learning to play fiddle from her father Francie Mooney, himself a noted fiddle player. At this time Donegal music was little known outside of the county. Kennedy's repertoire included a number of obscure northern flute tunes drawn from his travels in Tyrone and Fermanagh. Frankie Kennedy (1955 - 19 September 1994) was an Irish flute and tin whistle player and a cofounder of the band Altan, with Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh, his wife. ... This article is about the city in Northern Ireland. ... Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh is the lead vocalist for famed Irish traditional band Altan. ... Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: , Irish Grid Reference B847228 Statistics Province: Ulster County: Dáil Éireann: Donegal South West Dialling Code: 074, +000 353 74 Population (2002)  - Town:  - Rural:   1,388  1,253 Website: http://www. ... The Irish Fiddle is one of the most important instruments in the traditional repertoire of Irish music. ... Proinsias Ó Maonaigh or Francie Mooney (1922-2006) was a fiddler from Gaoth Dobhair, County Donegal, Ireland. ... “Fiddler” redirects here. ... For much of its history, the island of Ireland was divided into 32 counties (Irish language contae or condae, pronounced IPA: ). Two historical counties, County Desmond and County Coleraine, no longer exist, while several county names have changed. ...

Donegal fiddle music has a drive in it, somewhat like Cape Breton music, due to the push given on both the upstroke and the downstoke. Playing late-night sessions and festivals, they gradually gathered around themselves talents that complemented their own skills. The first to join them was Ciarán Curran from Fermanagh, playing bouzouki. A novelty in 1969, by 1987 it was an accepted instrument for Irish music. Mark Kelly on guitar, was experienced in rock, blues, jazz, country and classical music. The four of them appeared on the first album, Altan, although Altan was not used as the name of the band until the follow-up, Horse With A Heart. The name comes from Lough Altan in north-western Donegal. The Donegal fiddle tradition is a kind of Irish traditional music, based on a tradition, or set of coexisting traditions, at least 200 years old, of playing the fiddle in County Donegal, Ireland. ... For other uses, see Cape Breton. ... County Fermanagh (Fear Manach in Irish) is often referred to as Northern Irelands Lake District. ... For bouzoukia, see nightclubs in Greece. ... Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ... Irish music is a folk music which has remained vibrant throughout the 20th century, when many other traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... Blues music redirects here. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... country music, see Country music (disambiguation) Country music, the first half of Billboards country and western music category, is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ...

There then followed four albums recorded for Green Linnet Records, all of them selling well in the US Billboard charts as well as in Ireland. Another fiddler, Paul O'Shaughnessy, Dublin-born but steeped in the Donegal tradition from an early age as a result of schoolboy excursions to the Donegal Gaeltacht, was a member for several years. The sound of two fiddles in driving unison had become so essential to the band's idiom by this stage that when O'Shaughnessy departed, he was replaced by young Donegal fiddler Ciarán Tourish. Guitarist Dáithí Sproule also joined in 1992. There was a secret tragedy behind this wave of acclaim. Frankie Kennedy, who had been the band leader and manager, was diagnosed with cancer in 1992. At his insistence the band continued, with Kennedy taking part whenever possible. He died in 1994 in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. Green Linnet Records was a record label that specialized in music loosely configured under the Celtic label. ... Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. ... Gaeltacht regions in Ireland Gaeltacht (pronounced ; plural Gaeltachtaí) is an Irish word for an Irish-speaking region. ...

In 1996 they signed to a major label, Virgin, and added an accordion-player to the sound, Dermot Byrne, also from Donegal. Guests on Altan albums have included song-writer and guitarist Steve Cooney, Dónal Lunny from Planxty, blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt, and country singer Dolly Parton. Year 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar). ... Virgin Records was a British recording label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... Legendary Irish musician, Dónal Lunny. ... Planxty was an Irish folk music band formed in the 1970s by Christy Moore, Donal Lunny, Andy Irvine (a founder of the Irish mid-sixties group Sweeneys Men), and Liam OFlynn (piper). ... Bonnie Raitt, (born November 8, 1949) is an American Blues-R&B singer, songwriter, and guitarist who was born in Burbank, California, the daughter of Broadway musical star John Raitt. ... Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American, Grammy Award-winning country music singer/songwriter, composer, author, actress, and philanthropist. ...

In 2001 Tourish and Ní Mhaonaigh contributed to the Afro Celt Sound System album Volume 3: Further in Time. Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... The Afro Celt Sound System are a musical group which attempts to fuse modern dance rhythms (trip-hop, techno, etc. ...

A winter school of music is now held in Donegal each year in honour of Frankie Kennedy. Altan remain the most successful proponents of traditional Gaelic song and Donegal fiddle-playing. This article is about the modern Goidelic language. ...

Altan featured on a special Éire stamp from 2006.

In 2003 they won the award for Best Group at the BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 502 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,051 × 659 pixels, file size: 271 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a postage stamp. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 502 pixelsFull resolution‎ (1,051 × 659 pixels, file size: 271 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a postage stamp. ... Map of Éire Éire (pronounced ) is the Irish name for Ireland. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. ... The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. ...

Discography

Frankie Kennedy and Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh

• Ceol Aduaidh (Music of the North) (1983)
• Altan (1987)

Altan

• Horse with a Heart (1989)
• The Red Crow (1990)
• Harvest Storm (1991)
• Island Angel (1993)
• Once Again 1987- 93 (1993)
• The First Ten Years (1986-1995) (1995)
• Blackwater (1996)
• Best Of Altan (1997)
• Runaway Sunday (1997)
• Altan's Finest (1999)
• Another Sky (2000)
• The Blue Idol (2002)
• Local Ground (2005)

Horse with a Heart, an album by Altan, was released in 1989 on the Green Linnet Records label. ... The Red Crow, an album by Altan, was released in 1990 on the Green Linnet Records label. ... Harvest Storm, an album by Altan, was released in 1992 on the Green Linnet label. ... Island Angel, an album by Altan, was released in 1993 on the Green Linnet label. ... Blackwater, an album by Altan, was released in 1996 on the Virgin Records label. ... Runaway Sunday, an album by Altan, was released in 1997 on the Virgin Records label. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... The Blue Idol, an album by Altan, was released in 2002 on the Narada label. ... Local Ground, an album by Altan, was released in 2005 on the Narada label. ...

External links

• Official website