Eileen Donaghy

Artist: Eileen Donaghy

LP: Let's Sing With the Irish!

Song: "Galway Bay"

[ listen ]

Here's another neat record I found while rummaging through the "as is" discount bins last weekend. Born in the town of Brackaville in Northern Ireland in 1930, Eileen "Maisie" Donaghy worked as a darner in a weaving factory before singing "The Boys From the County Armagh" to a packed stadium at the Ulster Football Final in Clones in 1958, which set her on a path to become one of Ireland's most popular and beloved singers. Eileen's "Let's Sing With the Irish" LP, on which she sings with Johnny Gregory and His Orchestra & Chorus, was released simultaneously in the USA and the UK in 1961. You can get your own copy of the record, with fewer scratches, right here. You can read more about the life and career of Eileen Donaghy on Wikipedia here, and find the LP liner notes included below.

[ Eileen Donaghy: July 16, 1930 — October 26, 2008 ]