Delia Murphy was a singer and collector of Irish ballads. Some knew her as “The Queen of Connemara”. She was born in Ardroe, Claremorris. Her father purchased the large, Mount Jennings Estate in Hollymount, County Mayo. Her family was regarded as being wealthy. Her father, Jack Murphy, from Hollymount, made his fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush. While in America, he married Anna Fanning from Roscrea, County Tipperary. They returned to Ireland in 1901.

PropertyValue
dbpprop:abstract
  • Delia Murphy was a singer and collector of Irish ballads. Some knew her as “The Queen of Connemara”. She was born in Ardroe, Claremorris. Her father purchased the large, Mount Jennings Estate in Hollymount, County Mayo. Her family was regarded as being wealthy. Her father, Jack Murphy, from Hollymount, made his fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush. While in America, he married Anna Fanning from Roscrea, County Tipperary. They returned to Ireland in 1901. Her father encouraged Delia's interest in singing ballads from a young age. He also allowed Irish travellers to camp on the estate. According to her own account, the young Delia learnt her first ballads at their campfires. Delia was educated at Presentation Convent, Tuam; Dominican College, Dublin; and University College Galway, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree. In UCG she met Tom Kiernan. They married in 1924, on her 22 birthday. Tom joined the Irish diplomatic service. His first posting was to London. While there she sang at many venues including gatherings of Irish exiles and became quite well known. In 1939 she recorded The Blackbird, The Spinning Wheel and Three Lovely Lassies for HMV. In 1941 Dr. Thomas J. Kiernan was appointed Irish Ambassador to Rome. The Irish legation was the only English-speaking legation to remain open after the United States entered the war. Delia was one of those who assisted Hugh O'Flaherty in hiding Jews and escaped allied soldiers from the Nazis. In 1943, when Italy changed sides, many escaped POWs were helped by the legation to leave Italy. Tom later served as Irish Ambassador in Australia, Bonn, Ottawa, and Washington. It was when they were in Ottawa, in 1961, that she made the recording of “The Queen of Connemara” for the Kenny Goldstein label. Delia tired of the diplomatic life and bought a farmhouse in Jasper, Ontario, near the Rideau Canal where she spent most of her time, even after Tom got posted to Washington. Tom died in 1967. By 1969 Delia's health was not the best, and in November of that year she sold her farmhouse and returned to Dublin. She bought a cottage in the Strawberry Beds in the suburb of Chapelizod. On 11 February 1971, The "Queen of Connemara" died of a massive heart attack. She had recorded more than 400 ballads.
dbpprop:hasPhotoCollection
dbpprop:reference
rdf:type
rdfs:comment
  • Delia Murphy was a singer and collector of Irish ballads. Some knew her as “The Queen of Connemara”. She was born in Ardroe, Claremorris. Her father purchased the large, Mount Jennings Estate in Hollymount, County Mayo. Her family was regarded as being wealthy. Her father, Jack Murphy, from Hollymount, made his fortune in the Klondike Gold Rush. While in America, he married Anna Fanning from Roscrea, County Tipperary. They returned to Ireland in 1901.
rdfs:label
  • Delia Murphy
owl:sameAs
skos:subject
foaf:page
is owl:sameAs of