Maria Christian

Maria Doyle-Cuche (born 6 May 1965) is an Irish singer who represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1985. In 2016, she auditioned for The Voice of Ireland, and was selected by coach Una Foden in the audition round. In 2020, she took part of The Voice France, in which she went to the semi-finals coached by Lara Fabian. Since the age of nine, Maria has been 95% legally blind. She is the author of an autobiographical book in French entitled "On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur" (One Can Only Truly See with the Heart, 2018).

Biography

Childhood She was born in 1965 in Dundalk, Ireland, to a poverty-stricken mother in a mother and baby home. Affected by Stargardt's genetic disease, she lost her eyesight at the age of nine but nevertheless wanted to become a singer. "Wait Until The Weekend Comes" reached number 15 in the Irish charts. Her follow-up single "Star" reached number 30 in the Irish charts in December 1985.

She married a Frenchman, Emmanuel Cuche, and settled with him in the early 1990s in Chanteheux, near Lunéville, in Lorraine. All of them became musicians in their turn, playing different instruments: piano, violin, cello, flute and guitar. During The Voice France, she sang the Irish traditional song "Danny Boy" accompanied by all her children for the blind auditions, then "You Raise Me Up" from Secret Garden (Battles) and "Memory" from Barbra Streisand (knock-outs).

She is also a lecturer; she participated in a TEDx talk in particular, which was the starting point for an autobiographical work, "On ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur" (One Can Only Truly See with the Heart) published by Plon under the name Maria Doyle.

She was chosen to participate in the Virtual Reception of the Irish Embassy in Paris on 17 March 2021. Accompanied by her son, Emmanuel, on piano, she sang "You Raise Me Up". In 2024, she was invited at a reception in her honor at Áras an Uachtaráin in Ireland and became the first French woman to receive the Presidential Distinguished Service Award from the Irish President.