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Artist
Dolores Keane
12+ albums
celticirishfolkfemale vocalistsIrish Folk
about
Dolores Keane (26 September 1953 – 16 March 2026) was an Irish folk singer and founding member of the group De Dannan. She subsequently pursued a solo recording and touring career. Keane was born in the village of Sylane, near Tuam, in County Galway, Ireland. From the age of four, she was raised by her aunts Rita and Sarah Keane, who were known sean-nós singers. Influenced by them, Keane began singing at an early age and made her first recording for Radio Éireann in 1958, at the age of five. Her brother, Seán, also pursued a career in music. In 1975, Keane co-founded the traditional Irish band De Dannan. The group released their debut album "Dé Danann" the same year and gained international recognition, achieving success in the United States in the late 1970s. During her time with the band, their single "The Rambling Irishman" was a hit in Ireland. Keane left De Dannan in early 1976 after two years and was replaced by Andy Irvine. Around this time, she married multi-instrumentalist John Faulkner, with whom she recorded three albums. Keane lived and worked in London with Faulkner before returning to Ireland in the early 1980s. They collaborated on film scores and BBC programmes and formed the bands The Reel Union and Kinvara. Keane released her first solo album, "There Was a Maid", in 1978, followed by "Broken Hearted I'll Wander" (1979) and "Farewell to Eirinn" (1980), both featuring contributions from Faulkner. She briefly rejoined De Dannan in the mid-1980s, recording th
