I finally got around to creating a page on Wikipedia for Celtic Woman: Ancient Land
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_Woman:_Ancient_Land

It's got the basics, but still needs some work to survive the auditing, so I'll keep working on it. We'll have much more content once the album debuts on the charts and once the liner notes are available. It definitely needs more independent sources though.

I also linked the Celtic Woman: Homecoming - Live from Ireland article and the main Celtic Woman page to the Ancient Land article.

If there's anything I need to fix or that I should add, please let me know.

Glenn&Ronan announced they're releasing a Christmas EP on December 7, 2018!

Albums

- Celtic Dreaming (2019)
- A Celtic Christmas (2019)


Contributions to Albums

- Favorite Hymns (Jason Tonioli) (2017)
     Featured on all tracks except Till We Meet Again

- Finding Peace (Jason Tonioli) (2018)
     Brahms' Lullaby (Lynn Hilary) ... very-slightly-tweaked version of the single

- Evermore Part Vol. I: The Soundtrack of Magical Lore (Chuck E. Myers "Sea" & Caranua) (2018)
     Evermore
     Angels of Evermore
     Magic Enfolds
     The Lore of Glynshire
     Realm of Faerie Magic

- Evermore Part Vol. II: The Soundtrack of Cursed Lore (Chuck E. Myers "Sea" & Caranua) (2018)
     Sirens of Evermore
     Banshee Lullaby (I *think* they're in this song)
     Daughters of Danu
     900 Years

- Yesterday (The Piano Guys) (single) (2019)

- Evermore Park: The Soundtrack of Aurora (2019)
     CaraNua Carol of the Bells
     Aurora
     All Through the Night
     Shooting Star
     The First Noel*
     Winter Magic Enfolds
     Winter Angels of Evermore
     What Child Is This
     O Holy Night
     Silent Night Stille Nacht*
     Away in a Manger*
     A New Dawn
     O Come All Ye Faithful*
     I Saw Three Ships
     God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen*

     * songs that weren't on CaraNua's "Celtic Christmas" album

- Hogwarts Legacy (Original Video Game Soundtrack) (2023)
     Haven

Singles

- A Million Dreams (from The Greatest Showman) (2018)
- Remember Me Lullaby (from Coco) (2018)
- Brahms' Lullaby (Lynn Hilary solo) (2018)
- All Through The Night (2019) ... will likely be on the Evermore Park: Aurora soundtracks when those albums are released
- Baby Mine (2019)
- Celtic Ave Maria (Bach Gounod) (2019)
- Be Still My Soul (Jason Tonioli) (2020) ... with Alex, Lynn, and Edel

Amy's Albums

- Cashmere (2005)
- Shout It Out (2012)
- Where I Am (2014)
- On Common Ground (Subjects of the Queen) (2017)
- Amy's 80s Xmas (2019)


Amy's Singles

- A Best Friend in Me (2010)
- Mother River (2018)
- Sunny Skies (2019)
- Skipping Stone (2020)
- On the Platform (Felix Van Dijk) (2020)
- In the Arms of Morpheus (2020)
- Forever and a Day (2021)
- It's My Time (2022)
- Cuckoo for You (2024)
- Fool to Love You (2024)


Contributions to Other Albums:

- Broadway's Greatest Gifts: Carols for a Cure 2000 (2000)
     We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Amy as part of the 2000 Company of Riverdance)
- Ocean Liner (Jim Kuras)
     Stuck in the Gloom
     Do It All For You
     My Lonely Heart
     Ocean Liner


Celtic Woman DVDs

- Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration (2006)
- Celtic Woman: Songs from the Heart (2010)
- Celtic Woman: Celebration (2020)


Appearances in Other DVDs

N/A

The musical director, Gavin Murphy, has received kind of a mixed reaction from the fan base since he took over for David Downes in 2015.

I think a lot of people got turned off by Destiny because it sounded so different. I really liked a lot of the things he did in Destiny. Yeah, it wasn't as big or as full a sound as Downes had in his arrangements, but he had a lot of genius stuff in the harmony and backing instrumentals. Destiny was the first (and so far only) Celtic Woman album to get nominated for a Grammy, so I guess some people in the recording industry agreed with me.

Voices of Angels got another divided reaction. They went really big with the orchestra and had the most classical sound they've put forward in an album. It had quite a bit of energy and was an exciting album to listen to. Some people liked the more grander and more percussive sound. Some people called it soulless and hated how Murphy tried to re-arrange ("butchered") their long-time favourites. I think what he accomplished with Voices of Angels was really impressive. He took some truly beloved Celtic Woman songs and put his own unique spin on them. For the most part, I thought he did a masterful job of re-imagining those songs and putting his own epic stamp on them.

One of the most hurtful reactions I've read is that the girls that Gavin Murphy (and Méav) selected don't have as much heart or aren't talented enough. To me, those are really disrespectful and ignorant things to say. Most of those people listen to the music, but don't know the girls. Either that or they can't get over the fact that their favourite singers are no longer with the group. For some of those fans, Celtic Woman died the moment Lisa Kelly left. Trashing the girls is totally uncalled for. Everyone in Celtic Woman right now is really, REALLY talented and they pour their hearts out for us when they perform.

Some people feel like Murphy's arrangements don't have the same complexity or life to them like David Downes' work did. It's said that "it just sounds ... off" or that "the magic is gone." I kind of understand where those opinions are coming coming from, even if I don't entirely feel the same way. For me Murphy's arrangements are just different. He doesn't try to write music the same way as David Downes. He has his own style. I like it. But some people either don't like his style or can't get into it because the Downes way was perfection ... the best and only way.

One of the most interesting opinions I've read (recently here on the forum and in a few other places) is that David Downes wrote his arrangements specifically for the girls: their strengths, their personalities and and their voices. Gavin Murphy on the other hand writes his arrangements the way he wants them to sound and then has the performers perform them his way. It's speculation (at least in part), but of all the dissenting opinions on Murphy, this one might be the closest to the truth.

Personally, I think Gavin Murphy writes great music. But perhaps the magic that people say has been lost was in David Downes' ability to get the best out of every singer, every instrument, every note. Regarding that, I will say that as much as I have loved almost all the work they've done in the post-Downes era, I do feel sometimes like they're capable of even more.

All that said, I think that Ancient Land is Gavin Murphy's best work. The harmony is intricate, soothing, and at times ethereal. A lot of the backing instrumentals are clever and really beautiful. The turns in County Down, the gorgeous strings in Faith's Song, and the inspired take on Mná Na hÉireann are but a few examples. I thought he made excellent use of the band and a medium-sized orchestra and while the way he leveraged the girls' talents wasn't perfect, I think he did take advantage of a lot of their strengths (even in ways we might not have have expected, in the case of Megan).

There will be people out there that still won't like what he's done in Ancient Land and maintain that Celtic Woman will never have the same life and soul as it did when David Downes was the musical directory. I choose to appreciate all the good aspects of what Gavin Murphy has given us and I'm grateful that we still have beautiful music to listen to, performed by the most wonderful women in the world.

Hopefully I haven't offended anyone with my opinions or in the way I've presented the opinions of others. I just felt like it was important to get a lot of these thoughts organized and hashed out in one place. I do appreciate other people's opinions, even the ones I don't agree with. It's the opinions I disagreed with the most that got me into social media and the forums. They're the reason I started going to see their live shows and most importantly, the reason I came to love Celtic Woman as much as I do today. <3

Some people have been getting messages from someone posing as Susan McFadden on Facebook. All of Sue's accounts are *verified* so if you're not getting the message from a verified account, it's not her.

Someone's been impersonating Chloë on Facebook messenger too, using her name and profile picture, but has practically no posts. All of the real Chloë's 'official' accounts are verified. The fake ones are not.

Some of the girls (including Chloë, Tara, etc.) do have separate personal accounts that are not verified (Chloë's is under an alias so people don't bug her on her personal account). Impersonators know that celebrities have unverified personal accounts. They pretend to be one of the girls wanting to chat with you from their personal account because you're such an awesome fan.

In rare cases when one of the girls messages me to say something, it has always been through a verified account. In addition to the profile picture, verified accounts have a special symbol: a blue circle-shape with a white checkmark inside.

There are sick people out there who want to take advantage of how much we love and trust these ladies. So please be careful giving out any personal information online, even if you think you know who's on the other end of the conversation.

Last year Celtic Woman ran a contest during the summer to attend the Homecoming DVD recording at the 3Arena in Dublin...

https://www.facebook.com/celticwoman/posts/10155493732992838

Win a trip to Ireland to see Celtic Woman perform their 'Voices of Angels' show in the 3Arena, Dublin.
Click the link below to enter - you will receive a bonus entry if you share this message with your friends

- There was no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter the competition
- Competition entrants had to be 18 years old or more on the date of entering the competition
- The prize consisted of a trip to Ireland for two people, to see Celtic Woman perform in the 3Arena, Dublin on 2 September 2017.
- Return flights from the USA to Ireland and two night’s accommodation were covered by Celtic Woman Ltd. The prize was non-transferable.
- The stated that "no cash alternative to the prizes will be offered" ... I mean airline tickets and accommodations cost money, but how do you put a price on a dream come true?
- The winner was be notified by email and/or letter within 14 days of the closing date
- The winner agreed to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material
- The competition ran run every week for four weeks beginning Monday 3 July and ending Monday 31 July 2017


I knew that contest was going to a longshot as there were only 4 winners. But I was kind of heartbroken at the time that I was going to miss yet another Celtic Woman DVD recording. I actually considered booking a trip to Ireland on short notice just to see the DVD recording and a couple of other things, but there wasn't enough time to do research and scramble something together last year. It also would have been difficult financially at that particular time given how many shows I saw out of town last year.

I'm reminded, as I often am, of a quote from Amy Rivard: "what's yours can't pass you by." It means that what's meant to be will often find a way, sometimes in ways and at times we least expect. Even doors that get slammed in your face may not be closed forever.

Even though I didn't win this contest, it did start a rather important process. It was the first time I actually looked seriously at visiting Ireland. I started thinking about what kinds of things I wanted to see over there and I started longing to go there really badly. That all set the stage for me to be able to put together a 12-day trip on 5 week's notice this year to go see Ireland. If it wasn't for some pre-planning and the burning desire to see Celtic Woman in their home country, I probably wouldn't have even entered the draw this year and then I would have missed out on seeing the incredible DVD recording at Johnstown Castle.

Whether you perceive it as destiny or coincidence, there's no denying that the events in our lives often become intertwined in ways we can only appreciate after the fact. Thinking back on the past few years when I started making a lot of my long-held dreams come true, I'm reminded of another quote from one of Amy Rivard's songs. It's one of the things I wish I had been able to say during my brief interview with PBS at the castle: "pain and sorrow teach us strength and joy." It's some of the hardest times that lead us to appreciate the best things in our lives. Even just a few years ago, I never would have had the confidence or the desire to do some of the amazing things I've done. Over the past few years I've finally realized that even the hardest experiences in my life were worth it, because it's those times that led me to love Celtic Woman so much.