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News and Observer
HER IRISH HEART HAS NO SECRETS Cathie Ryan's songs have an intimacy, an emotional directness that comes through whether she's singing in English or Irish. "No secrets held in an open heart," she sings in the title track of her album, "Somewhere Along the Road." That single, simple line seems to lay bare Ryan's approach to her art. "I don't have a very thick skin," she says. "That has been a problem for me in my life, but I think it has helped me musically. At times, I feel like I'm an open bowl and everything gets in. That is probably why I put songs of hope and faith in my records, too, because I think that's so important especially nowadays, when there's a lot of chaos in the world." Beginning with her work with the female vocal group Cherish the Ladies and continuing through her decade-long solo career, Ryan has been recognized for her contributions to the Irish-American community. U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins says of her, "There is a powerful sweetness in Cathie Ryan's voice, as well as a Celtic intensity that can be felt in all the songs she writes and sings -- songs of place, songs of memory, poignant songs of the heart." Her next album, "The Farthest Wave," will be released in April. She says it will be her most personal record. "I've never been big on love songs," she says. "I've always liked to mix it up with historical ballads, traditional songs and contemporary songs, with lots of varied subject matter. But this one is a little different. It's probably more emotional." Born in the musically rich environs of Ireland's counties Kerry and Tipperary, Ryan's parents emigrated to Detroit in 1957 to work in the city's automotive industry. They were singers whose social life focused on the Gaelic League, an Irish community center. From age 7, Ryan spent most of her free time at the League, singing and learning about Irish culture. In the summers, she visited her grandparents in Ireland. From her grandmother, a noted fiddler and singer, Ryan learned traditional songs and enjoyed a personal connection to her Irish heritage. "She loved music," Ryan says. "I think that's one of the reasons she and I were so close. Every evening, after everything was tidied up, she would sit down by the fire and start playing. I loved watching her play and sing because it transformed her. All the energy around her got very young. Even though she sat there with gray hair in a bun, she was a girl when she played and sang. "I saw her take such joy in music. I loved watching that in her, and I think the same thing happens to me. The most single-minded I ever am is when I'm singing. There's nothing else distracting me, I'm completely in the moment and in the song." Ryan believes Irish music resonates across cultural boundaries because it concerns itself with resilience, oppression, and the human will for freedom. "The wonderful thing about Irish music is that it gets into peoples' souls and psyches who aren't even Irish," she says. "I think it's because it's a music that speaks of the human condition. It is so rich thematically and historically. It is a music that is filled with pure emotion. It doesn't matter who's singing the songs, they resonate. I think that's because the music was a lifeline for the Irish for so long, after so many invasions and being diminished as a culture and as a people the way that they were through history. "The music became a way of affirming their worth and their value, of chronicling their history, their culture, of chronicling the depth of their personality -- their wit, the humor, the pathos -- all of that. And although Ireland is a very different country today, I think the music still carries that life force."
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