Dolores Keane

Dolores Keane (26 September 1953 – 16 March 2026) was an Irish folk singer. She was a founding member of the group De Dannan and later pursued a solo recording and touring career.

Background Keane was born on 26 September 1953 in Sylane, a small town near Caherlistrane, County Galway, in the west of Ireland, the third of eight children. Her father Matthew Keane and her mother Bridie (née Comer) were both singers who in the early years of their marriage had lived in Dublin. From the age of four, she was raised by her aunts Rita and Sarah Keane, who were well-known sean-nós singers and held weekend music sessions in their house. Her uncle Paddy taught her to play whistle and flute. Keane started her singing at a very young age, influenced by her musical aunts. A presenter for RTE heard Dolores singing at one of the sessions and she made her first recording for Radio Éireann in 1958 at the age of five. By the age of six, she was winning medals at Feis Ceoil, a music competition held every year in Dublin. Her brother Seán also had a successful musical career. Keane attended a convent secondary school in Tuam.

Musical career Dé Danann In 1974, Keane co-founded the traditional Irish band Dé Danann and the group released their debut album, Dé Danann, in the same year. Dé Danann gained international recognition, and enjoyed major success in the late 1970s in the United States. Keane toured with the band, and their single "The Rambling Irishman" was a big hit in Ireland. In early 1976, Keane left Dé Danann and was replaced by Andy Irvine, who recorded live with the band on 30 April 1976 during the Third Irish Folk Festival in Germany. In 1977, she married multi-instrumentalist John Faulkner, with whom she recorded three albums of folk music. This became Keane's first Irish number-one single and she performed the song at the celebration of Mandela's release. In 1990-91, Keane played the female lead in the Dublin production of Brendan Behan's The Hostage, a new translation by Niall Tóibín and Michael Scott. The opening night was attended by Mary Robinson, the President of Ireland.

In 1992, Keane was one of many female Irish singers whose music was included in the record-breaking anthology A Woman's Heart. The album also featured Eleanor McEvoy, Mary Black, Frances Black, Sharon Shannon and Maura O'Connell and became the biggest-selling album in Ireland's history. A Woman's Heart Vol. 2 was released in late 1994 and was a high charting album in Ireland. Also in 1994, a solo album entitled Solid Ground was released on the Shanachie label (available on Dara Records) and received critical acclaim in Europe and America.

In August 1995, Keane was awarded the prestigious Fiddler's Green Hall of Fame award in Rostrevor, County Down, for her "significant contribution to the cause of Irish music and culture". In the same year, she performed in the Dublin production of JM Synge's Playboy of the Western World. She contributed to the RTÉ/BBC television production Bringing It All Back Home (1991), a series of programmes illustrating the migration of Irish music to America. American singer Nanci Griffith said of Keane: "Dolores Keane, the queen of the soul of Ireland, has a sacred voice". On 17 April 2022, Keane was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the TG4 Gradam Ceoil awards ceremony for Irish traditional music at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. In November 2024, she received an honorary doctorate in Music from University of Galway (DMus).

Personal life and death Keane married musician John Faulkner in 1977.

Keane died at her home at Caherlistrane, Ireland, on 16 March 2026 at the age of 72.

Discography There Was a Maid (1978) Dolores Keane (1988) Lion in a Cage (1989) Solid Ground (1993) Night Owl (1998) Alula Records

Dé Danann Dé Danann (1975) Anthem (1985) Ballroom (1988)

Dolores Keane and John Faulkner Broken Hearted I'll Wander (1979) Farewell to Éirinn (1980) Sail Óg Rua (1983)

Rita Eriksen and Dolores Keane Tideland (1996) Alula Records

Compilations Best of Dolores Keane (1997) Where Have All the Flowers Gone: The Very Best of Dolores Keane (2003) Anthology: Celebrating Seventy Years (2023)

John Prine and others In Spite of Ourselves (1999) Oh Boy Records Dolores duets with John on "It's a Cheating Situation" and "In a Town This Size".

Anthologies A Woman's Heart (1992) A Woman's Heart 2 (1994) Bringing It All Back Home – Influence of Irish Music (2 CDs) (2000)

Video (VHS) Bringing It All Back Home – Influence of Irish Music (1992) (various artists)