Mary McPartlan (8 January 1955 – 6 April 2020) was a traditional Irish singer and musician as well as a music director and producer.

Biography

Mary McPartlan was born in 1955 in Drumkeeran,

County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim, County Leitr ...

. She founded folk duo Calypso in the 1970s. McPartlan was also the founder of both the

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

singers club ''An Riabhóg'' and theatre company ''Skehana''. She was also the administrator of Galway Youth Theatre. McPartlan worked as a lecturer for University College, Galway (UCG; now the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

). She received a Fulbright Scholarship to Lehman College in the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

in 2013. She taught Creative Arts and Theatre. McPartlan also worked as an arts PR and consultant with her own company ''Mac P''. During the 1990s, McPartlan worked with TG4 to develop the Traditional Irish Music awards, Gradam Ceoil. She worked as a producer and director of musical projects including TG4 music show ''Flosc'', the Arts in Action programme at NUI Galway and the opening of Glór, the national Irish music centre in

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

. McPartlan toured with the Druid Theatre's Seán Tyrell productions of ''The Midnight Court''. In 2004, McPartlan released her debut album ''The Holland Handkerchief'' and followed it in 2008 with ''Petticoat Loose'' and then in 2016 with ''From Mountain To Mountain''. She was awarded the Ireland United States Association (IUSA) Distinguished Alumni Award for her contribution to culture, education and music. McPartlan was married to Paddy Noonan, with whom she had two daughters, Mairéad and Meabh. She was also stepmother to Niamh and David. She died on 6 April 2020 after a long cancer illness.

References and sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:McPartlan, Mary 1955 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Irish women singers Traditional musicians Musicians from County Leitrim Musicians from County Galway 21st-century Irish women singers Academics of the University of Galway