Eilís was raised in Baile an Mhúraigh in West Kerry to parents who passed on a lifelong and committed interest in the poetry and songs of that region, and was fortunate to have had the opportunity to listen to many of the finest exponents of song in her locality.
Eilís recorded her first solo CD titled Time to Sail in 2000, with guitarist William Coulter and this gained widespread critical acclaim .This was followed by another solo collection One Sweet Kiss In 2007, and along with composer Shaun Davey, Rita Connolly, Seamus Begley, Jim Murray, Eoin Ó Beaglaoich & Dáithí Ó Sé, she was part of Béal Tuinne, a 15 song cycle, based on her father Caoimhín Ó Cinnéide’s poems and set to original music by Shaun Davey. This experience led to many opportunities working with world-renowned musicians and singers. The common thread was a sense of place, and pride in the undeniable magic of West Kerry. There followed a live recording s and perfromances of the St James’ Church original performance of the song cycle for the TV documentary produced by South Wind Blows for RTÉ , in The National Concert Hall , Trinity College Dublin , and the Centre Culturel d'Irlandais in Paris and at festivals in Ireland.
Éilís formed LUMIERE with fellow West Kerry woman Pauline Scanlon in 2009, and they have recorded two award winning albums : Lumiere , and My Dearest Dear. In early 2017, Eilís released her third solo recording Westward with her friend and Grammy award winning US guitarist William Coulter .
Éilís's latest album So Ends This Day is a themed album of songs she has composed about lives involved in whaling, produced by Gerry O' Beirne; New Bedford whalers and their wives , including a song about the Fenian rescue in Fremantle by the whaleship Catalpa, in 1876. Eilís worked on restoration of one the flags from the Catalpa for Rothe House Archaeological Society, and so had a longtime interest in it. The album received critical acclaim and was nominated for an RTE Folk Award. Eilís also received the 2021 ACLSR Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in recognition of American Celtic Listener Supported Radio for exceptional talents, Achievements of musicians in the Celtic Traditional genre. The song Petticoat Whalers , from the album So Ends This Day is a runner up in the 2021 American Songwriter International Songwriting competition.
In 2020 , she also released a download album of unaccompanied Irish language songs learned in childhood, titled Mo Theaglach, sung in her household as she grew up. One of the songs, however , is Eilís’ original musical interpretation of the great poem Gile Na Gile. Eilís composed music in 2022 for a Gaelic song entitled “ Tusa” from the original poem written by Dairena Ní Chinnéide . This is performed by Eilis and Steve Cooney in a new recording .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKDISYW3z5k Ciumhais Charraig Aonair
https://youtu.be/i8zqg0CjOQQ Eilís in Descendants
EILIS KENNEDY
