Joe Heaney
Joe Heaney ( Irish Seosamh Ó hÉanaí , born October 15, 1919 in Carna , Connemara , † May 1, 1984 in Seattle ) was an Irish folk musician who dedicated his life to sean nós singing , a traditional form of singing in Irish-speaking Ireland.
Life
The folk musician Joe Heaney was 1919 in Carna, a village in Connemara born in the Irish county of Galway. He spent much of his adult life abroad, living in England, Scotland and New York. During these stays in other countries, Heaney recorded hundreds of songs. Most of these songs told of his childhood and youth in Carna.
About this time in Carna, Heaney said he started singing at the age of five, but his shyness prevented him from singing in public. It wasn't until the age of 20 that Heaney changed his behavior. He was awarded a scholarship to a school in Dublin, appeared in pubs, including O'Donoghue's Pub , and won first and second prizes in a national singing competition.
In 1949 Heaney went to London, where he worked as a construction worker, was involved in the folk music scene and made recordings with the labels Topic Records and Gael Linn . His wife, to whom he was married for six years, also died in London of tuberculosis.
In 1965, Heaney accepted an invitation from the Newport Folk Festival. After singing in Newport, he decided to move to the United States and settle in New York. Heaney later worked at various universities until his death in 1984, most recently at the University of Washington in Seattle . Every year a commemorative festival is held in his honor in Carna, called The Féile Chomórtha Joe Éinniú (in English Joe Heaney Commemorative Festival ).
A biography about Heaney was written by Liam Mac Con Iomaire . In 2017, director Pat Collins dedicated a biography to Heaney with Song Of Granite .
reception
- Joe Heaney: Sing the Dark Away by Michael Davitt , Radio Telefís Éireann, 1996
- Song Of Granite , Biography by Pat Collins , 2017
Individual evidence
- ↑ Joe Heaney In: joeheaney.org. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
Web links
- Interview with Joe Heaney
- Joe Heaney - posthumously created website
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heaney, Joe |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ó hÉanaí, Seosamh (Irish form of name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish folk musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 15, 1919 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Carna , Ireland |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 1, 1984 |
| Place of death | Seattle , United States |