Orla Fallon – ‘My Land’ DVD

WebCelt — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:00:33 +0000

Impression/Review: In March, Órla Fallon released her concert DVD, My Land. With this concert, Órla invites her audience to travel with her on a magical tour of her favorite places around Ireland. She promises to transport the audience to these spots using traditional and contemporary songs. A few of the traditional songs are “Mo Ghile Mear,” “Ni Na La,” “I’ll Tell Me Ma,” and “Red Is the Rose.” Some of the contemporary songs include Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” Brendan Graham & Rolf Lovland’s “My Land” and Dan Shea & John Bettis’ “Distant Shore.” The sights and sounds of Ireland are brought to life through these incredible songs which are woven together with amazing videos of Órla singing at many of the spectacular sites around Ireland. Órla also has several amazing guest performers that add to the magic of the show. The Dublin Gospel Choir, the Dubliners, Tommy Fleming, and Damien Dempsey all added their own unique flair which further captivates the audience.

Her promise to transport us through the country quickly becomes reality in the video. In August, Órla will begin the second part of her My Land Tour and it promises to take us on a similar magical tour. With her wonderful voice and engaging harp playing, Órla is going to take her audience to the enchanting Emerald Isle.

The cities on Órla’s tour schedule are listed below and more details are available on her website. Tickets for most of the shows are currently on sale through local PBS stations, so don’t wait too long to purchase yours or all the good seats will be gone.

Alicia Coller
Celtic Radio Contributor

Additional Review: Orla Fallon (wiki spells it Orlagh) was, to me, THE voice of Celtic Woman. This is not to take anything away from any of the other singers, and their voices, but Orla sings the traditional music in a very traditional Celtic (Irish) voice, and she plays that harp. That, for me, was the best of what becomes an organization that calls itself Celtic Woman. When she and Maev (Ni Mhaolcatha) left Celtic Woman, well, while the group continues to be good, I felt very much as some of you feel over Paul and Ryan leaving Celtic Thunder. It has just never been the same.

Anyway, Orla has been a singer/songwriter/harpist for much of her adult life (she was born in 1974), having several personal releases, was a member of Anuna (as was Maeve) for some time, went into Celtic Woman, and then left them in 2009 to put more attention into her own family life and her personal music.

She was born in Knockananna, County Wicklow; she is married, she likes gardening, horses, and outdoors and country life. Her influences have been Clannad, and Maire (Moya) for the harp, the Chieftans, and Allison Krauss. She says she was a teacher “in a past life”; not sure whether she means before she got into music, or if she really does believe in past lives, like I do. She has sung for, among others, the Pope, President Clinton of the US, President Mary MacAleese of Ireland, and at Carnegie Hall. She has appeared with Jim Brickman and the Duggans, and has had Guests such as Tommy Fleming in her own shows. Her labels are Liffey and Manhattan.

Her latest release is My Land, which was released this past March 11. The tracks include (and I just tried to copy some videos over to this blog, but they won’t play here – I suppose you have to go to YouTube to hear them).

Down To The River To Pray – a song sung by Allison Krauss, one of her faves, in the George Clooney movie Oh Brother Where Art Thou.

Mo Ghile Mar – a song she did in ensemble with Celtic Woman

My Land (written by Brendan Graham, the writer of You Raise Me Up and other inspirational songs)

Red is the Rose (with Tommy Fleming)

Spanish Lady (this she did in ensemble with Celtic Woman)

and six more song, for a total of 11. If you go to Amazon. com and do a search for Orla, then look at the album itself, you can get bits of all 11 of the songs.

Anyway, Orla is definitely one of my fave singers of Irish/Celtic music, and I think she is well worth a listen. Besides, I love red hair.

Carol Stepp
Celtic Radio Contributor

Celtic Radio Comments: We can not more highly recommend this wonderful DVD of Orla Fallon’s ‘My Land’ DVD! 5 Golden Stars from Celtic Radio:

Video Trailer of “My Land”:

Picture Gallery of Orla Fallon:

[[Show as slideshow]]

Purchase ‘My Land’ DVD:

The Secret of Roan Inish

WebCelt — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:02:33 +0000

The Secret of Roan Inish is an American independent film written and directed by John Sayles, and released in 1994. It’s based on the novel The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry, by Rosalie K. Fry. It is centered on the Irish and Orcadian folklores of selkies—seals that can shed their skins to become human. The story, set on the west coast of Ireland, is about Fiona, a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents near the island of Roan Inish, where the selkies are rumored to reside. It is an old family legend that her younger brother was swept away in his infancy and raised by a selkie. Part of the film takes place in Donegal. The movie has been widely praised for its uniqueness and its breathtaking cinematography filmed by Haskell Wexler.

The story is told from the point-of-view of Fiona — played by Jeni Courtney — a young girl who is sent to live with her grandparents in an Irish fishing village. Her grandfather weaves tall tales about the family’s evacuation from their home on the tiny island of Roan Inish and his great-great grandfather, who once cheated death at the hands of the sea. As she meets other villagers, Fiona hears more personal stories about an ancestor who married a beautiful, part-human/part-seal, and more about how the sea stole her baby brother during the departure from Roan Inish. Later, Fiona believes that she has found Jamie romping in the grass on Roan Inish, and she must convince the family of her vision.

Although in the original novel the story takes place in Sotland, the filmmakers decided to have the film take place in Ireland for practical reasons. Critic Stephen Holden, of The New York Times, liked the film’s direction. He wrote, “The Secret of Roan Inish is the first film directed by Mr. Sayles that could be described as visually rhapsodic. Photographed by Haskell Wexler on Ireland’s rugged northwestern seacoast, it is a cinematic tone poem in which man and nature, myth and reality flow together in a way that makes them ultimately indivisible.

A beautiful story, that captures the selkie legend with a touch of innocence. 5 Golden Stars from CelticRadio.net:

Picture Gallery from the Movie: The Secret of Roan Inish

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Orla Fallon – ‘My Land’ DVD

The Secret of Roan Inish