Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola (Irish pronunciation: ˈl̪ˠasˠəɾʲˌiːnˠə; born c. 1977), known mononymously as Lasairfhíona, is an Irish singer-songwriter. She is deeply rooted in the sean-nós singing style of her home on Inis Oírr, one of the Aran Islands.
Biography
Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola was born on Inisheer, Aran Islands, the only daughter and eldest of four children of Dara Ó Conaola and his wife Pacella. Her father had trained as a craftsman and woodwork teacher, and later became a writer, including of a book with his wife, Cuairt ar Oileáin Árann/Guide to the Aran Islands, which has been published annually since 1978. Her mother, educated at The Grafton Academy of Fashion Design, Dublin, and a relative of the artists Albert Power and May Power, is a maker of traditional red Aran skirts and shawls. Their children were raised in an Irish-speaking household. After boarding school in Galway, Lasairfhíona graduated in Celtic Studies from Trinity College Dublin.
Her début album An Raicín Álainn (pronounced An Rackeen Aw-lyn), was launched in 2002 at the Festival Interceltique in Lorient, Brittany. It was selected by Hot Press music magazine as one of the best folk albums of 2002.
