Caroline Georgina Corr (born 17 March 1973) is an Irish singer and drummer for the

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

band

the Corrs The Corrs are an Irish family band consisting of siblings Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Caroline (drums, percussion, piano, bodhrán, vocals) and Jim (guitar, piano, keyboards, v ...

. In addition to the drums, she plays the ''

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A Goatskin (material), goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or ot ...

'', ''

cajón A cajón ( ; "box, crate, drawer") is a box-shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru, played by slapping the front or rear faces (generally thin plywood) with the hands, fingers, or sometimes implements such as brushes, mallets, or st ...

'', percussions and piano. The Corr siblings were appointed honorary MBEs in 2005, in recognition of their music and charitable work, which has raised money for the Freeman Hospital in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, victims of the Omagh Bombing and other charities.

Early life

Corr was born on 17 March, 1973 (

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

) in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, Ireland, to Jean and Gerry Corr. Corr has four siblings: an older sister Sharon Corr, older brother Jim Corr and a younger sister Andrea Corr. Their older brother Gerard was killed when he was three years old in a road accident before she and her sister Andrea were born. Caroline was brought up in a Catholic household and was sent to the same school, Dun Lughaidh Convent, as her sisters. Her parents played ballads and folk tunes in local bands, and formed their own band called "Sound Affair". Jean sang and Gerry played the keyboards and they performed covers of songs by various famous bands. Caroline and her siblings were exposed to music from a very young age, and travelled with Jean and Gerry to gigs in the family car. Caroline was taught the piano by her father Gerry at a very early age like her other siblings. She also learnt the bodhrán by watching videos of traditional Irish musicians playing it. The violin was originally intended for Caroline to play but she showed no interest and instead Sharon took up the violin lessons. Caroline learned how to play the drums with the help of a former boyfriend who gave her the lessons. From then on, her drum skills were self taught. She performed No Frontiers, a cover of a

Jimmy MacCarthy James MacCarthy (born 1953) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Early life and career (1953–1979) MacCarthy was born in Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, to Ted MacCarthy (died 1998) and Betty MacCarthy (died 2009). He has 11 siblings. For a time, ...

song, on The Corrs Unplugged along with her sister Sharon. In 2020, Corr was part of an Irish collective of female singers and musicians called " Irish Women in Harmony", that recorded a version of

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

in aid of the charity ''SafeIreland'', which deals with

domestic abuse Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

which had reportedly risen significantly during the

COVID-19 lockdown During the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a number of non-pharmaceutical interventions, particularly lockdowns (encompassing stay-at-home orders, curfews, quarantines, and similar societal restrictions), were implemented in numero ...

Career

CarolineCorr AcousticSet 02 London 20160123

Personal life

Corr married Frank Woods, a property developer and boyfriend of many years, on 22 August 2002, in

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

, Spain. Their first child, a son, was born on 12 February 2003. The couple's first daughter was born on 11 October 2004. This led to Corr taking some time off from the band's activities. On 1 December 2006 a second daughter was born. The couple separated in October 2020.

Honours and awards

In April 2002, she was awarded the Rory Gallagher Musician Award at the Hot Press Irish Music Awards held at held at the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's Blackstaff studios in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Discography

Albums

* 1995: '' Forgiven Not Forgotten'' * 1997: '' Talk on Corners'' * 2000: '' In Blue'' * 2004: '' Borrowed Heaven'' * 2005: ''

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or more human occupants, and sometimes various companion animals. Homes provide sheltered spaces, for instance rooms, where domestic activity can be p ...

'' * 2015: '' White Light'' * 2017: '' Jupiter Calling''

Compilations and remix albums

* 2001: '' Best of The Corrs'' * 2006: '' Dreams: The Ultimate Corrs Collection'' * 2007: '' The Works''

Live albums

* 1997: '' The Corrs - Live'' * 1999: '' The Corrs Unplugged'' * 2002: '' VH1 Presents: The Corrs, Live in Dublin''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Corr, Caroline 1973 births Living people 21st-century Irish drummers Bodhrán players Honorary members of the Order of the British Empire Irish rock drummers Irish women drummers Irish women singers Musicians from County Louth People from Dundalk The Corrs members 1990s in Irish music 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music 2020s in Irish music