The Rooney Family

The Rooney Family are an extremely talented group of young musicians consisting of four sisters and two brothers from Mayobridge, Co Down. Sheila, Linda, Stephen, Sinéad, Danielle and Eamon began playing music at an early age and together they have achieved numerous county, provincial and All Ireland titles. Their musical journey together began in 1999 and since then they have captivated audiences both at home and abroad. They have performed at the Odyssey Arena; the Ulster Hall; Trinity College, Dublin as well as entertaining at Charity functions such as hospice fundraisers; raising funds for local community events and for the street children of Manila. They are also no strangers to the world stage having entertained audiences on the Isle of Skye, Slovenia, Denmark and Cape Breton Island, Canada.

The Rooney Family also have two album’s to their credit, ‘Four Miles From Anywhere’ and more recently ‘Where Have You Been?’ which was released in December 2006.

The Irish fiddle player Gerry O’Connor commented:

“The imaginative and uplifting arrangements coupled with inspiring lyrical compositions grounded in the tradition set this family band apart.

Their deep and diverse musical interests belies their youth; the full spectrum of Irish music today is performed by these amazingly talented musicians, from traditional laments and melodies to the rockier genre of contemporary folk.

All in all this is an excellent album reflecting the spirit, vibrancy and musical passion of The Rooneys.”

The album also received a glowing review in the Irish Music Magazine where John O’Regan noted, “This Co Down based family band plays with skill and assurance and their music possesses the necessary clarity and focus to commend itself as worthily valid. They write their own material and this forms the backbone of Where have You been?........ The music has both spaciousness and confidence and extols the finest nuances of Irish and Scottish idioms.”

To add to their success the family received a prestigious ‘Danny Kyle’ award at the 2007 Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. Also in 2007, Sinéad, Danielle and Sheila toured Spain, Tenerife and Portugal with the Royal Tara dancers at various World Culture Festivals while Stephen provided support for the well known fiddle player, Liz Doherty at a number of concerts throughout Ireland. The family also had the opportunity to perform at the closing of the All Ireland Fleadh.

2008 has already been busy for the Rooney family with a return trip to Glasgow for the Celtic Connections festival where they supported Brian Finnegan from the well known band Flook on his latest project, ‘The Singing Tree’; an appearance at Stormont for St. Patrick’s Day which was followed by a gig in April at the Spirit Store in Dundalk. As well as their appearance at Gig’n the Bann they are also preparing for a trip to Scotland, the Fiddlers Green festival in Rostrevor and by request they are also hoping to return to the Skagen Festival in Denmark, with several other festivals still to be confirmed. An Autumn ‘08/ Spring ‘09 tour which is still to be confirmed is also on the horizon.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear the musical talents of this young family. In the words of ‘The Cape Breton Times’, Nova Scotia “…they captivate their audience with their energy, spirit and the sheer joy of sharing their music…”

Further information at http://www.therooneyfamily.net/