Deirdre Shannon

Deirdre Gilsenan
Born	County Meath, Ireland
Genres	Celtic, Adult Contemporary, Classical
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Celtic Collections Manhattan
Associated acts	Celtic Woman, Anúna, Celtic Thunder
Website	Official website

Deirdre Gilsenan (born in County Meath, Ireland) is an Irish singer who has toured with a variety of Celtic music groups, such as Anúna,^[1] the Celtic Tenors and Celtic Woman. She is better known by the stage name Deirdre Shannon.^[2]

Background

Shannon was born into the Gilsenan family of County Meath as the middle child of five siblings.

Shannon's exposure to music came very early on from her parents and older siblings. Her formal introduction came at the age of nine when she was enrolled for piano lessons. She and her siblings participated in the church choir and in local events, including weddings, funerals and local concerts.

In 1992, Shannon entered Dublin's College of Music and studied under the guidance of vocal trainer Mary Brennan. She participated in many musical activities, including traveling with the Dublin Institute of Technology Choir.

Shannon began her professional career in 1996 when she was selected to be a member of the Irish choir Anúna.

In 1997, Shannon was selected by Michael Flatley to join his world wide tour with the show Lord of the Dance. She was cast into the role^{[citation needed]} of Erin the Goddess and performed in over 800 shows over a four-year period covering most of North and South America.

Since her professional debut, Shannon has performed with artists including^{[citation needed]} Eily O'Grady, Dionne Warwick, The Celtic Tenors, Air Supply, and Celtic Woman. Shannon's accomplishments have also included participating^{[citation needed]} in the sound track of RTÉ's historical documentary television series called The Island. She has also made appearances on CBS Morning News, Fox Morning TV, and The Late Late Show.

On 1 October 2006 Shannon released her solo album, simply entitled Deirdre Shannon. She is also featured in the Celtic Woman: The Greatest Journey Essential Collection DVD. Shannon also sings "Harry's Game" as well as a couple more songs in Celtic Thunder: Storm which was released on CD and DVD on 20 September, 2011.

References

1. ^ "Past Members of Anúna 1997 to 2009". Anuna.ie. 2009. http://www.anuna.ie/PastSingers.html. Retrieved 28 December 2009. 
2. ^ Gilsenan, Deirdre (2004-04-12). Update Message. . DeirdreGilsenan.com. http://www.deirdregilsenan.com/cgi-bin/mojo.cgi?flavor=archive&id=20040412004302&list=deirdre. Retrieved 2007-07-18. 

External links

• DeirdreShannon.com - Official website
• Deirdre Shannon on Myspace

Persondata
Name	Gilsenan, Deirdre
Alternative names	Shannon, Deirdre
Short description	Irish language (Celtic music) singer
Date of birth
Place of birth	County Meath, Ireland
Date of death
Place of death