Liz Kane comes from Dawros on the outskirts of Letterfrack, a village in Co. Galway along the West coast of Ireland. With a musical tradition on both sides of the family, it was only natural for the girls to play music. Their grandfather, fiddle player Jimmy Mullen, has been a leading figure on the traditional music scene in Connemara for over 50 years and it was his enthusiasm that encouraged the sisters to learn to play the fiddle.
Liz, and her sister Yvonne, began learning music from both their grandfather and South Sligo musician and teacher, Mary Finn McCrudden. Along with the recordings of the Rainey brothers, their grandfather and Mary were an early influence on their music. The Raineys were traveling fiddle players who visited Letterfrack and the surrounding areas in the 1950s.
Music very soon became an integral part of their everyday lives and holidays were spent attending summer schools in Tubbercurry and Drumshanbo. In 1992, Liz won the Fiddler of Dooney in Sligo and went on to win the All-Ireland senior fiddle and duet title as well as the Fiddler of Oriel in 1995. She returned to Monaghan the following year and regained the Fiddler of Oriel title.
Liz studied music at University College Cork and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree and a Higher Diploma in Education. After finishing in Cork, she returned to Galway and shared a house with her sister Yvonne and Sharon Shannon. The following year, they joined Sharon’s band as part of Sharon Shannon and The Woodchoppers. For the next three years, the band took them all over the world to promote the release of their album the following results for “The Diamond Mountain Sessions. In addition to having appearing on recordings with Sharon Shannon and Steve Earle, among others, Liz and Yvonne released several albums, including The Well Tempered Bow in 2002.
Discography:
The Well Tempered Bow (Dawros Music, 2002)
Under the Diamond (2004)
Side By Side Claddagh Records, 2010)
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
