| Liam Ó Maonlaí Born in 1964 mount Carmel Hospital. His Mother Eithne Lydon was a trained pianist and Actor from Galway. Her Father was also a passionate piano player who bought his own piano at the age of 19. Liam grew up with this piano in the house. It was on this piano he discovered a deep sense of musical satisfaction. Liam’s father taught him to sing in his native tongue. In 1981 he won the all Ireland final as bódhran player under 18. He has been a finalist on the tin whistle, piano and as a singer many years over. In Athlone he entered a group of dancers and led them to victory in a set dancing all Ireland. In Ennis in 1985 he and Fiachna Ó Braonain ,with the enchanting presence of Maria Doyle Kennedy won a music award called Gradam Shlogadh. They had put together a rhythm and blues group with all songs written in Irish. This was the seed beginning of Hothouse Flowers, which went on to be one of Ireland’s most successful rock bands and released seven albums.All through the Hothouse Flowers years, Liam remained faithful to his traditional roots. 'Traditional music does not belong to me. I belong to it. The same as the land.' Liam has also travelled extensively in Australia, Japan, America, Europe, Scandinavia, Morocco and India and has played and continues to play with the traditional players of these places. 'I believe the style known as séan nos, carries a sense of the soul of the land and the people who are awake in that land. I feel, when in the company of other cultures, the singing of this style opens a window into what it is that connects us. Every country has it's own séan nos.' |