Pauline’s powerful album in tribute to late mother, Eileen

Arts Week with Judy Murphy

“It’s a life, really; it’s my mother’s life,” says singer Pauline Scanlon about her latest album, The Unquiet.

The title comes from the Unquiet Grave, one of the songs  included on the release, which Pauline recorded with Damien Dempsey for this, her most personal album yet.

The Unquiet, with its carefully selected songs capturing life from birth to death, is a reflection on her late mother, Eileen, and, through that, the lives of other women – including Pauline’s own and that of her daughter, Kitty, now aged 5 ½..

Pauline, who is originally from West Kerry and spent some years in Belfast, now lives near Headford and is part of the vibrant arts scene locally. She lived in Galway City in her younger years, where the beauty of her voice drew the attention of musicians like Sharon Shannon, with whose band she performed.

Pauline has forged a successful solo career as a folk singer, with several albums to her name, and she’s also known for collaborating with other artists.

When it came to this album of 10 songs, Pauline’s aim was  straightforward: “To make traditional songs work for me and to pull in as many life experiences as possible.”

The Unquiet does that. It grew out of her experience with Fair Plé, a lobby group she was involved in establishing a few years ago to highlight the need for equality and transparency in folk and traditional music.

The backlash that she and the other women involved received for attempting to tackle sexism in trad music shocked and shook her. And she’s not a woman who’s easily rattled. But she adds that they got positive feedback too.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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