Celtic Woman Forum
The Cast => Ciara Ní Mhurcú => Topic started by: LakersCeltics on September 07, 2025, 05:38:06 PM
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https://www.youtube.com/@BIIRDOfficial
https://youtu.be/KNPdNWTO56k?si=62TFwUyxEauo9BB4
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This one is good. This is a solo. The photo CW used is from this video shoot.
https://youtu.be/6K-ZjuacafQ?si=zpdQ22rQM6Axx1DX
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BIIRD is coming to North America with Ed Sheeran in 2026.
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/mayo/news/mayo-woman-lisa-cannys-band-biird-to-support-ed-sheeran-on-north-american-tour/a818012071.html
BIIRD, an all-female trad supergroup founded by Mayo woman Lisa Canny, will support pop superstar Ed Sheeran for six of his concerts in north America in 2026.
The group will support the singer-songwriter for three dates in Toronto, Canada, in the Rogers Centre on August 20-22, followed by a date in Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on August 29 and two shows in the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on September 4-5.
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BIIRD is coming to North America with Ed Sheeran in 2026.
https://www.independent.ie/regionals/mayo/news/mayo-woman-lisa-cannys-band-biird-to-support-ed-sheeran-on-north-american-tour/a818012071.html
BIIRD, an all-female trad supergroup founded by Mayo woman Lisa Canny, will support pop superstar Ed Sheeran for six of his concerts in north America in 2026.
The group will support the singer-songwriter for three dates in Toronto, Canada, in the Rogers Centre on August 20-22, followed by a date in Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on August 29 and two shows in the Metlife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on September 4-5.
Interesting how her group will be touring next year…I wonder if this hints more at her tenure with Celtic Woman being temporary…although, she could be a part of both groups, I suppose it just depends on how touring will work out.
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BIIRD announced a UK tour April-May 2026.
https://www.hotpress.com/music/biird-announce-uk-ireland-tour-23117679
Assuming there is a CW Spring Tour 2026, there would be a schedule conflict for Ciara.
So I'm also wondering if Tara is coming back at some point. I'm guessing no one knows for sure right now. ???
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BIIRD announced a UK tour April-May 2026.
https://www.hotpress.com/music/biird-announce-uk-ireland-tour-23117679
Assuming there is a CW Spring Tour 2026, there would be a schedule conflict for Ciara.
So I'm also wondering if Tara is coming back at some point. I'm guessing no one knows for sure right now. ???
-Ciara is shown in the tour promotional photo. But that’s just a differently coloured version of the White Christmas Symphony Tour photo, so I’m not sure if that means much.
-Ciara could leave BIIRD, similar to how Caitríona just left ANÚNA, but Ciara seems to be quite essential to BIIRD’s existence, so that seems unlikely.
-It wouldn’t be that soon if Tara came back to tour in spring after having her son in August, especially if she takes him with her.
Part of the difficulty with figuring this out is that both Tara and Ciara were on Nollaig: A Christmas Journey. If only Tara were on the album, it would seem more like Ciara is just here temporarily, and if it were only Ciara, her membership would seem more permanent. Instead, we’re caught in this confusing middle ground. I wonder if it could just be scheduling conflicts with Tara’s son being born in August when they were recording or if this is hinting at something deeper.
As you said, probably no one really knows right now. I just like overanalysing things ;)
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BIIRD (LIVE) - THE LOVE BUZZ SET
https://youtu.be/9kCcrnY37EM?si=v2oQMkiE2Buw6gWt
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I'm disappointed I never got to see Ciara w/ CW.
I was thinking this idea out of nowhere. How about BIIRD tour with CW as an opening act? They are doing a partial tour with Ed Sheeran, for example. I'm not sure of the logistics of making that happen, or if it makes financial sense. But I had to post that somewhere! :P
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BIIRD is doing a small tour of the US and Canada.
Only some of them are with Ed Sheeran.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1538708811113008&id=100049217126470
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It looks like there are only 8 members of BIIRD now, according to this article. (It was 11 before.)
https://www.rrampt.com/event/biird-canada-and-usa-tour
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It looks like there are only 8 members of BIIRD now, according to this article. (It was 11 before.)
https://www.rrampt.com/event/biird-canada-and-usa-tour
That’s kind of sad. Maybe they just forgot to mention the others??
Who exactly did we lose and what instruments did they play? I hope the Shruti box player is still around. Do any BIIRD connoisseurs know?
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Nice. The Toronto shows will do nicely location-wise. Not sure if the timing will work out yet, but it would be fun to see Ciara again, as well as Kate's sister Sal.
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Nice. The Toronto shows will do nicely location-wise. Not sure if the timing will work out yet, but it would be fun to see Ciara again, as well as Kate's sister Sal.
I hope you enjoy the show(s)! You’ll have to report to us when you’ve seen them.
Should we make a new board for BIIRD, as we have boards for CaraNua, The Blue Belles, and the Celtic World Forum? Or was Ciara’s tenure with CW too short for that?
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It looks like most of the shows in the area are as a supporting act for Ed Sheeran. That'll certainly drive the ticket price up, and narrow the decision window a lot. Maybe 1 solo show in Toronto, but it's not easy to get to on transit and I'd need to take half a day off work to get there ahead of the traffic by car.
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Nice. The Toronto shows will do nicely location-wise. Not sure if the timing will work out yet, but it would be fun to see Ciara again, as well as Kate's sister Sal.
I hope you enjoy the show(s)! You’ll have to report to us when you’ve seen them.
Should we make a new board for BIIRD, as we have boards for CaraNua, The Blue Belles, and the Celtic World Forum? Or was Ciara’s tenure with CW too short for that?
We could probably justify a new board based on Ciara and Kate both having been in that group, mostly because the alternative would be to post it under one of their dedicated boards on the Forum and keep track of whose board the content is in. Although I suppose we'd be justified in having a dedicated board for Anuna based on that criteria.
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It looks like there are only 8 members of BIIRD now, according to this article. (It was 11 before.)
https://www.rrampt.com/event/biird-canada-and-usa-tour
That’s kind of sad. Maybe they just forgot to mention the others??
Who exactly did we lose and what instruments did they play? I hope the Shruti box player is still around. Do any BIIRD connoisseurs know?
So it seems that the three missing members are
1. Aisling Sage, who plays fiddle and whose collaborations include Lord Of The Dance. Here’s the BIIRD post introducing her https://www.instagram.com/p/C5ldhc9M2CZ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/aisling_sage?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== This is her account. She’s still tagged BIIRD in her bio but it seems she’s touring with someone else this summer.
2. Claire Loughran, who plays fiddle and harp (which it seems as though every member of BIIRD plays, even if not with the group?). Here’s BIIRD’s post introducing her: https://www.instagram.com/p/C51JZm2siJx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
And https://www.instagram.com/claire_lough?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw== is her Instagram. She also has BIIRD tagged in her bio and her last post was with them. So I don’t know what that’s about.
3. Aoife Kelly, who plays cello and—you guessed it!—fiddle. Interestingly, on their post introducing her (https://www.instagram.com/p/C5_a7wQMx8r/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link), BIIRD mentioned that members would come and go, so maybe she was never intended to be with them for long. The cello is lovely, though, so that is kind of a shame. At least the Shruti box player is here.
Aoife (https://www.instagram.com/aoifekmusic_?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==) does not have BIIRD tagged in her bio, and her latest post didn’t mention them at all, so that ship might have sailed.
I also noticed that the article mentioned a member, Laura Doherty, who I believe normally goes by Laura Jo, but they might have replaced her with someone also named Laura…? But I think they’re the same person.
You know, BIIRD’s post mentioning how they’re a collective says they want to amplify traditional Irish musicians everywhere, and their drummer is Dutch…maybe I have a chance at joining BIIRD someday 🤔
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@stars_at_dawn
Oh wow. Thanks for the research. I think you are the resident expert on BIIRD then. I am also wondering if maybe some of the girls don't want to tour, but maybe will rejoin when back in Ireland.
@CWazyTom
I was also looking at the tour stops. It's interesting b/c it's a mix of:
- opening for Ed Sheeran
- Irish Fests
- bars / clubs
Hmm...
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@stars_at_dawn
Oh wow. Thanks for the research. I think you are the resident expert on BIIRD then. I am also wondering if maybe some of the girls don't want to tour, but maybe will rejoin when back in Ireland.
Oh, thank you! That’s a good insight on touring…do we know who all toured with Ed Sheeran?
It seems that there’s been more members who have at least collaborated with BIIRD. They’ve following 15 people, and minus @absolutelilt, which is a collaboration between members Lisa and Niamh. I think before Hannah was their drummer, someone named Siân Monaghan (https://www.instagram.com/siany_drumsutm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==) served that role.
And it seems that Laura Jo and Laura Doherty are in fact different people (https://www.instagram.com/_lauradoherty_?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==). I think the latter has been a member longer than Laura Jo has, though, as she played guitar in one of their music videos.
I believe Nicole Lonergan is a newer member as well (https://www.instagram.com/nicolelonergan_?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==).
I do wish BIIRD would announce each new member, though. Things have gotten confusing 😭.
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Here is a recent article about BIIRD.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/donal-lynch-spice-girls-of-trad-teach-us-that-in-a-world-of-streaming-live-music-is-what-we-really-really-want/a/151629171.html
There are a couple of interesting things mentioned inside.
- Author opinion from an Irish perspective on CW:
Though something of a niche act here at home, their popularity in the US had been hugely amplified by their appearances on PBS.
Irish traditional music has periodically been treated here as either a heritage artefact or a tourist product – yet abroad, it continues to function as something much more alive.
- Author on the music industry.
She and BIIRD have proven that modern fame is no longer built in the same way it was even 15 years ago. In an earlier era, a group without an album might have struggled to be taken seriously by the industry. Now the energy has shifted away from recordings and towards experience.
- Lisa Canny opinion on CW & other acts:
“There are these incredible shows that tour the world, like Riverdance and Celtic Woman and Lord of the Dance, but the representation of women in these groups is still very much outdated,”
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Here is a recent article about BIIRD.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/donal-lynch-spice-girls-of-trad-teach-us-that-in-a-world-of-streaming-live-music-is-what-we-really-really-want/a/151629171.html
- Lisa Canny opinion on CW & other acts:
“There are these incredible shows that tour the world, like Riverdance and Celtic Woman and Lord of the Dance, but the representation of women in these groups is still very much outdated,”
That seems odd to me…LOTD and Riverdance I understand, but how does Celtic Woman display an outdated representation of women? 😭 I’m asking this as a young woman and feminist myself.
I guess maybe in the earlier days, there was a more idealistic portrayal of the singers, and even today, it’s not as though you’re going to hear the nitty-gritty of the members’ personal lives, but still, I don’t really see how there’s a super unrealistic representation of women in their brand.
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Here is a recent article about BIIRD.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/donal-lynch-spice-girls-of-trad-teach-us-that-in-a-world-of-streaming-live-music-is-what-we-really-really-want/a/151629171.html
- Lisa Canny opinion on CW & other acts:
“There are these incredible shows that tour the world, like Riverdance and Celtic Woman and Lord of the Dance, but the representation of women in these groups is still very much outdated,”
That seems odd to me…LOTD and Riverdance I understand, but how does Celtic Woman display an outdated representation of women? 😭 I’m asking this as a young woman and feminist myself.
I guess maybe in the earlier days, there was a more idealistic portrayal of the singers, and even today, it’s not as though you’re going to hear the nitty-gritty of the members’ personal lives, but still, I don’t really see how there’s a super unrealistic representation of women in their brand.
I take it "outdated" means conservative in dress & presentation. The music is similar.
Yeah, I don't get that comment or the need for it. Maybe it is just for attention. But you can do that w/o being negative. There is plenty of room in the music industry for different styles & approaches.
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Here is a recent article about BIIRD.
https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/donal-lynch-spice-girls-of-trad-teach-us-that-in-a-world-of-streaming-live-music-is-what-we-really-really-want/a/151629171.html
- Lisa Canny opinion on CW & other acts:
“There are these incredible shows that tour the world, like Riverdance and Celtic Woman and Lord of the Dance, but the representation of women in these groups is still very much outdated,”
That seems odd to me…LOTD and Riverdance I understand, but how does Celtic Woman display an outdated representation of women? 😭 I’m asking this as a young woman and feminist myself.
I guess maybe in the earlier days, there was a more idealistic portrayal of the singers, and even today, it’s not as though you’re going to hear the nitty-gritty of the members’ personal lives, but still, I don’t really see how there’s a super unrealistic representation of women in their brand.
I take it "outdated" means conservative in dress & presentation. The music is similar.
Yeah, I don't get that comment or the need for it. Maybe it is just for attention. But you can do that w/o being negative. There is plenty of room in the music industry for different styles & approaches.
Yeah, that still seems like a weird comment to make. And I feel that the only way the music is that "conservative" is how they sometimes change the pronouns from male to female when singing traditional love song (Scarborough Fair, Down By The Salley Gardens, and the 2021 version of Black Is The Colour--Postcards From Ireland really dropped the ball on that part), which is annoying (especially in Down By The Salley Gardens, because swapping the POV really removed the emotional impact of the song), but there's even more songs that don't change them (all versions of She Moved Through The Fair, Carolina Rua, the original Black Is The Colour, The Lakes of Pontchartrain, to name a few), so I don't think that's fair. And although it is great that artists like BIIRD can create this space for women in folk music who don't fit the traditional mould, it feels weird to put down other women for that.
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BIIRD is doing a small tour of the US and Canada.
Only some of them are with Ed Sheeran.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1538708811113008&id=100049217126470
Out of curiosity, I was looking at some of the Irish Fests that BIIRD is going to. There are a lot of good Irish bands going to various ones in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Pittsburgh, etc. Just a quick glance and I saw: High Kings, Gaelic Storm, Harp Twins, and more.
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It looks like there are only 8 members of BIIRD now, according to this article. (It was 11 before.)
https://www.rrampt.com/event/biird-canada-and-usa-tour
That’s kind of sad. Maybe they just forgot to mention the others??
Who exactly did we lose and what instruments did they play? I hope the Shruti box player is still around. Do any BIIRD connoisseurs know?
2. Claire Loughran, who plays fiddle and harp (which it seems as though every member of BIIRD plays, even if not with the group?). Here’s BIIRD’s post introducing her: https://www.instagram.com/p/C51JZm2siJx/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
It seems Claire Loughran is very much still a member of BIIRD. Here’s their latest post with her delivering an inspiring message to their gig’s audience https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZspEkio5AM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link. Also, I counted 9 members their post right before that, and Aisling Sage was another one of them. However, Aoife, the cellist, Hannah, the drummer (and also the only non-Irish member), and Laura Jo, who I think played fiddle, were absent, so those three are at least temporarily gone.