Biography

Maeve comes from the village of Kylemore, Abbey near Loughrea in East Galway, an area steeped in traditional music. In the past, many notable musicians and bands hailed from here including the “Aughrim Slopes.” She now lives in the picturesque village of Quin, Co. Clare, a short walk from a lovely old Abbey.

Maeve has been playing the fiddle since the age of five and won her first  All-Ireland Fiddle Competition at the age of nine. She subsequently won two more All-Ireland fiddle titles as well as the National Slogadh Competition for Solo Fiddle and The Stone Fiddle Competition in County Fermanagh(1981). When she moved to County Clare, she entertained guests at the Medieval Castles in Bunratty and Knappogue.

Maeve was always impressed by older musicians such as Joe Cooley (accordion), Paddy Fahy (fiddle), Tommy Potts ( fiddle) and Willie Clancy (pipes). She regards her friends, Paddy Fahy and Peadar O’Loughlin, as having a great influence on her music.

In 1976 she was the youngest of 25 musicians invited from Ireland to perform at the Bicentennial Festival of American Folklife in Washington D.C. During this tour, Maeve and her friends, Maighread Ni Dhomhnaill, Sean Corcoran, and Eddie Clarke recorded the album “Sailing into Walpoles Marsh”. Maeve is also featured on a compilation album of compositions of the late fiddler, Ed Reavy. Ed loved those recordings and once said that “my music should always be played that way”.

As founder member of the group Moving Cloud (1989-2000) she has recorded and toured in North America playing at such prestigious venues as the Milwaukee Irish Fest (three years): The Lincoln Performing Arts Centre, New York, the Champlain Valley Folk Festival, the Washington Irish Festival and the Philadelphia Folk Festival .

Maeve Donnelly’s solo debut fiddle album simply titled “Maeve Donnelly” captures not only the unique East Galway and Clare sound, but also the spirited and rhythmic music from Nova Scotia and Quebec. This CD was the culmination of many months of research into old manuscript material as well as listening to the music tapes/CDs of older musicians.

Maeve is joined on this album by many talented musicians including Dermot Byrne (Altan), Geraldine Cotter (piano), Peadar O'Loughlin (flute), Steve Cooney (guitar) and her three brothers Mal, Declan and Aidan. Maeve’s own creative and elegant style of fiddling is not only respectful of tradition but also captures mood, melodic expression, rhythm and drive, in an exciting fashion.

For the last few years Maeve has been touring with Celtic guitarist, Tony McManus, in Ontario, Northern California, the East Coast of the US, and Ireland. Their collaboration resulted in a new recording "Flame on the Banks," released early in 2008 and received with rave reviews. Several tours are planned for 2009.