About Celtic Woman

Celtic Woman is an all-female Irish musical ensemble, formed in 2004 for a one-time event held in Dublin, Ireland. They started touring internationally as a group after multiple airings on PBS helped to boost the group's popularity.

Celtic Woman released their debut album Celtic Woman in 2004 and have since released more than 20 albums. They have sold more than nine million records worldwide. The group's line-up has changed over the years, involving vocalists and a fiddler. It was founded with Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, and Máiréad Nesbitt, but now consists of Mairéad Carlin, Tara McNeill, Muirgen O'Mahony, and Emma Warren as of July 2023. They have been described as being "Riverdance for the voice."

Celtic Woman has been named Billboard World Album Artist of the Year six times.

Celtic Woman originated from a one-time event held at The Helix in Dublin organized by producer Sharon Brown, executive producer David "Dave" Kavannagh, television producer and director Avril MacRory, and musical director David Downes on 15 September 2004. Downes, a former musical director of the Irish stage show Riverdance, recruited five Irish female musicians who had not previously performed together, vocalists Chloë Agnew, Órla Fallon, Lisa Kelly and Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, and fiddler Máiréad Nesbitt. Downes also chose a repertoire that ranged from traditional Celtic tunes to modern songs.

This performance was first broadcast on PBS during March 2005 in the United States. Within weeks the group's eponymous debut album, Celtic Woman, reached No. 1 on Billboard's World Music chart, eventually breaking Andrea Bocelli's long-standing record of chart-topping longevity on 22 July 2006 by having stayed at No. 1 for 68 weeks. The album held the top position on the Billboard World Music chart for 81 weeks total. Much of the group's success in America has been credited to the extensive PBS publicity throughout 2005. The live performance at The Helix was released on DVD alongside the studio album.

Celtic Woman has performed numerous tours in North America, with additional ones overseas. The group appeared live in more than a dozen US cities in 2005 for their original album debut, Celtic Woman The Show. This was followed by all five members' solo albums recorded between 2000 and 2004 being released in the US on 10 January 2006. During Méav's pregnancy in 2005, Deirdre Shannon was selected to fill her place during tours.

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Celtic Woman", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.