Úna Monaghan is a harpist, composer, sound engineer and award-winning musician.

Biography

Úna Monaghan was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

. She graduated with a degree in astrophysics from

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge beca ...

and a masters in sonic arts, before she went to

Queen's University Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

where she completed a PhD on New Technologies and Experimental Practices in Contemporary Irish Traditional Music. She has been artist in residence in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

, and

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

. Monaghan was the studio engineer at Queen's University's Sonic Arts Research Centre. In 2016, the Ireland Canada University Foundation awarded Monaghan the James M. Flaherty Research Scholarship. Monaghan won the given the inaugural

Liam O'Flynn Liam Óg O'Flynn ( ga, Liam Ó Floinn, 15 September 1945 – 14 March 2018) was an Irish uilleann piper and Irish traditional musician. In addition to a solo career and as a member of Planxty, O'Flynn recorded with: Christy Moore, Dónal Lu ...

award in 2019, worth €15,000. From 2016 to 2019 Monaghan was Rosamund Harding Research Fellow in Music at

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millice ...

, University of Cambridge. She went on to work with the

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

to write a six-part suite called ''Aonaracht''. The piece was debuted in the NCH on 27 February, although only five pieces were played because one of the players, the piper, was unavailable. She works to create experimental and Irish traditional music.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaghan, Úna Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Traditional musicians Musicians from Belfast Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Harpists from Northern Ireland Alumni of the University of Cambridge 21st-century Irish harpists