Eleanor Shanley tuning up for two Galway gigs

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

Singer Eleanor Shanley will be in concert in Ballinasloe’s Pillar House Folk Club this Friday night, October 21, while next Saturday week, October 29, she travels west of the city to play the Forge in Moycullen,

These are part of a series of concerts from now until December, that follows last year’s successful Irish tour to launch of Eleanor’s 14th album, Forever Young.

Eleanor spent March of this year touring Canada with De Danann, and has also been involved in some special shows in Ireland, including RTÉ Radio 1’s open-air concert on Dublin’s O’Connell Street as part of that city’s commemorations for the 1916 centenary.

Last month, she performed in Vicar Street at Here’s to You, Ronnie Drew – A Celebration, an evening in honour of her late friend and musical companion.

Spring 2017 will see Eleanor return to Denmark, where she was awarded Danish Folk Music Award in 2015, becoming only the second Irish artist to receive this honour since its inception 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, she’s doing a series of gigs closer to home between now and Christmas. And, to coincide with this year’s Irish tour Eleanor is releasing a new single for radio – it’s a double-A side featuring Smile and Dragonflies from Forever Young.

That album, released in September 2015, continues to enjoy radio support across the country.  Its first radio single, Thom Moore’s classic Gorgeous and Bright was the most played song on RTÉ Radio 1 last summer and also received great airplay from local and national independent stations.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.