"I was in the best company last night. Great to see my old friend Joan Baez at the premiere of her biopic ‘I am a noise’ in The Lighthouse Cinema Dublin. A wonderful documentary telling the story of a living Icon” - Mary

With Joan Baez and Sarah Lynch (film score composer)

Backstage with some of the great musicians who joined in a tribute to Joan after the film

Join Dublin Simon Community on December 13th at The Helix Dublin for their upcoming Sing for Simon Concert in collaboration with RTÉ Concert Orchestra.

Enjoy a magical night of heartfelt music and festive cheer with the prestigious RTÉ Concert Orchestra, alongside an array of Special Guest Artists, including Mary Black, Mary Coughlan, Angeline Ball, Shobsy, Stephen James Smith and Eddie Winston. This festive event promises to be an unforgettable night of music, all under the direction of an esteemed conductor.

This special fundraising event honors the vital services provided by Dublin Simon Community, which has been working tirelessly to prevent homelessness over the past 55 years. Your support helps sustain these essential services and highlights the oing need to aid Dublin Simon's efforts.

Tickets on The Helix Website

Mary Black and The High Kings are delighted to announce the release of their rendition of the classic song ‘Past the Point of Rescue’.

Originally brought to life by Mary in 1988 this song has become an anthem for fans of Irish music, young & old.

Now ‘Past The Point of Rescue’ takes on a fresh powerful sound with Mary’s unmatched vocals woven with the stunning harmonies and instrumental mastery of The High Kings.

This release will mark the first time these artists have collaborated on a recording and coincides with their highly anticipated joint tour of the United States, set to kick off in early 2025.

‘Past the Point of Rescue’
Mary Black & The High Kings
available on all major streaming platforms on November 22, 2024

View the single in the Discography

Delighted to announce a return to the USA after a long absence. This time I will be co headlining these special concerts with the magnificent High Kings! Every show is sure to be a great night of music!! Tickets on sale now - Mary

See the concert page for all the dates and links to buy tickets.

What a beautiful and emotional day spent in Dalymount Park with the Palestinian Team… Honoured to have sung for these amazing women. So proud of my sister Frances and all the work she’s done for the Palestinian people… think we got a photo bomber in this picture!

Playing The Luke Kelly Festival in Smithfield today. I’ll be on at 5pm, come on down!

Really happy to be announcing these forthcoming tour dates today…the 40th Anniversary Tour was so much fun that it made me want to do it all over again!

Mary x

Tickets on sale now, visit the Concerts Page for all dates and ticket links

“Delighted to be part of this very worthy fundraiser for the people of Gaza” - Mary

Tickets at eventbrite

"We’re coming to the end of my 40th Anniversary tour this weekend in Cork Opera House on Friday and Wexford Opera House on Saturday. I’m feeling a little emotional that’s it’s almost over as I’m enjoying performing now more than ever!! I want to sincerely thank all the amazing audiences who came to the concerts, my incredibly talented band and crew who also kept me laughing throughout! So much fun that I think I may well have to do it all again! Mary x"

Source: Facebook

"Really honoured to be a part of this very special sold out show in celebration of the life and work of the legendary Janis Ian in the National Stadium Dublin on the 28th of January. Mary x"

Source: Facebook

The Music Plant Japan has released a book in the series "The Guide to Irish Masterworks" called "Mary Black - No Frontiers".

Details can be found in the Discography section.

Note: we have a very limited amount of these books for sale in the webshop

3ú Records is proud to announce the release of this new Duets compilation to celebrate Mary’s 40th anniversary - available from Mary’s webshop at shop.mary-black.net and at all her upcoming concerts.

Album details and track listing can be found in the Discography section.

"I’m so delighted to welcome Shane Howard from Australia to be my very special guest for some of the shows on my upcoming 40th anniversary tour. Always gifted with words, he explains our story beautifully in this post he made online today." - Mary

Towards the end of October, Shane heads to Ireland to join Mary Black, as a special guest for four concerts, on her 40th Anniversary Irish Tour in October/November 2023.

It continues a long musical friendship. They met in 1992, in Australia, when Shane and his band were invited to tour with Mary.

“We immediately fell in with Mary and her band. They were the finest musicians and best of company and Mary’s voice and sensibility are a rare gift. Her choice of songs, over 40 years, speaks for her.”

“Mary heard me sing Flesh & Blood on that tour, returned to Ireland and recorded it. It became quite a hit on the charts in Ireland and beyond and Mary invited me to come and tour Ireland with her in 1993.”

“It was an amazing tour, on the back of her most successful album at the time. When I joined Mary onstage at the Point in Dublin, I was overwhelmed when 5000 people sang along to Flesh & Blood. I thought of my great grandmother, Mary Cleary, who left Ireland for Australia as an orphan of An Gorta Mor in the 1850’s, with such uncertainty before her and everything she knew, behind her.”

“We toured every nook and cranny in Ireland. It was a revelation. On a subsequent tour in 1994, I was able to connect with my Mother’s grandmother’s people near Silvermines, Beale Atha Gobhan, in Tipperary. Touring with Mary made these profound encounters possible and I’m forever grateful. I was also able to meet up with old friends Steve Cooney and Liam O’Maonlai.”

“It began an ever-deepening friendship between Mary and I and our respective countries, Ireland and Australia. We’ve recorded together and done numerous tours together over many years. A number of tours of Ireland, the US, Holland, Australia and we’ve guested with each other in our respective countries.”

Mary’s been a great champion for my songs, as she has with many songwriters, having recorded about 8 or 9 of them now. She’s been a great friend to my family and our community back in Oz. Like so many in our region, I grew up in the midst of the beautiful madness and all the complexities of Irish Australian Catholic culture, with a childhood of novenas and rosaries and music overflowing and spilling out of our home.

“After a dozen journeys to Ireland, this may be a farewell, as well as an opportunity to sing Mary’s praises and thank her for the genuine friendship she has shown over so many years. Maybe I can sing back to her some of the songs of mine that she breathed new life into, made her own and popularised in Ireland and beyond, with that once in a lifetime voice.

Source: Hotpress.com by Trevor McGrath

Mary Black yet again underlined why she stands as one of Ireland's greatest-ever performers with an outstanding show at the Theatre Royal Waterford recently. The renowned singer brought the opening leg of her 40th anniversary Tour to a close in the Deise City. 2023 is a special year for Mary as it marks the 40th anniversary of the release of her self-titled first solo album in May 1983. In front of a packed audience the Dublin singer and the lucky fans that were there on the night took a trip down memory lane of her greatest hits.

On stage for the special show Mary was joined by her band, including Bill Shanley (guitar), Pat Crowley (piano, and accordion), Nick Scott (double bass), Richie Buckley (saxophone), and Liam Bradley (drums and percussion). Mary's 40th anniversary Tour resumes again in August with dates in the UK and Ireland.

More photos of the concert can be found on the Hotpress website.

A night to remember Damian McCollum featuring Mary Black and band, Pat McManus, The McCollum Brothers and friends. All proceeds going to North Louth Hospice.

For tickets and details of the concert, please visit The Spirit Store

It’s hard to believe its almost 40 years since the release of my first solo album - I thought it would be good to mark the Anniversary with some concerts this coming year. I look forward to these gigs more than ever now, knowing that it can’t go on forever. Here’s the list of most of the dates and hope to see you at one of them.

Love Mary x

See the full list of concerts on the Concerts page.

Commenting on the RTE Lifetime Achievement Award Mary said: "To be the recipient of this Lifetime Achievement Award is a great honour. It's hard to believe that it's almost 40 years since my first solo album and I have so much to be grateful for since then."

"The gift of music and song first came from my parents who instilled in us a great love of music. I was fortunate to have an abundance of material written by exceptional songwriters who allowed me to share their stories.

"I was blessed also to have the outstanding musicians who worked with me to bring these songs alive and of course to have the audiences who loyally supported me down through the years. Míle buíochas - I am indeed honoured and grateful beyond words”.

Full article on the RTE website at https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2022/1107/1333621-mary-black-honoured-by-rte-lifetime-achievement-award/

To all the people who have bought tickets to Ratoath and Doolin Folk Festival this week, sadly we have to postpone these two shows due to Covid within the band. I am deeply sorry about having to do this, as we had a great rehearsal this week and were really looking forward to the gigs,

Gutted but we’ll be back.

Mary x

Update: the Ratoath concert has been rescheduled for September 29th

Hi All,

Just a note to say I’ll be part of the lineup at a “Gig for Ukraine” on May 26th. This benefit concert is happening in the Moate Theatre in Naas on May 26th and all support will be most welcome.

Tickets via https://moattheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873633954

Mary

This weekend was very special..… I was extremely honoured and privileged to receive an honorary doctorate in literature from University College Dublin alongside some great names in irish folk and traditional music. My parents would have been so proud!

Mary

We have set up a completely new online store for purchasing CDs, LPs, books and other merchandising directly from Mary. You no longer need a PayPal account to purchase from the shop as it now supports more payment methods such as credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDeal and more. If you want, you can of course still use PayPal.

To celebrate this new online store, you can get a 10% discount on your first order when using the discount code MARYBLACKNEWSHOP (valid till the end of February 2022). You can also click here to visit the new shop and automatically have the discount code applied if you place an order.

Besides this discount code, there is also a sale in the shop: buy any two items in the shop and pick one of the sales CDs for free. The sales CDs can be found here. You can't combine both discounts, the sale discount will take precedence.

Delighted to see this double album available now on vinyl. I sang so many of these songs at the concerts we did recently…such amazing audiences and great fun - available here.

Mary

By: Micheal McGovern
Source: Folk and Tumble website

An expectant music-loving crowd filled the Ulster Hall waiting for Mary Black to produce her usual high calibre show. They were not to be disappointed. Indeed this gig surpassed her last stellar appearance at the same venue two years ago, before the world closed down.

Classic song followed fan favourite. Musical excellence, Mary’s natural charm, and supreme musicality were the watchwords for the evening. Richie Buckley’s saxophone, superb throughout the night, ushered in a quality version of ‘Another Day’.

‘Adam At The Window’ was followed by Mary relating an encounter with an irate “feminist” whose misinterpretation of the song led her to tell the singer that “Adam won’t have his way!”. The song is about a baby growing, rather than any misogyny. Mary Chapin Carpenter’s beautiful ‘The Moon And St. Christopher’, was delivered with such yearning and whimsy, that it was impossible not to be caught up in the sheer emotion of the song.

Shane Howard’s ‘Flesh And Blood’ provided a distinct pick up in the pace. It’s a pacey tale of communication and communion, and another jewel in the Mary Black catalogue. ‘No Frontiers’ was the first of two songs played with a backing track from The National Symphony Orchestra. Lifted from her ‘Orchestrated’ album, it took the song to a new level.

Mary and her sister Francis have a long history of being active in areas of social justice and activism, and Mary gives a glowing testament to a local charity – The People’s Kitchen – in Belfast, which supports people who are homeless and those on the periphery of society, and are collecting donations at the gig.

‘The Mountains And The Sea’ was a nice tie-in song to the charity’s work, as she sang of the importance of a home, and a place to lay one’s head. The greatest hits continued to come thick and fast, as one magical tune followed another.

A rueful ‘Circus’, the exuberance of ‘Carolina Rua’, and ‘Don’t Say Okay’, and a splendid reading of ‘Bright Blue Rose’, were all welcomed with rapturous applause.

But one of the biggest receptions of the evening was given to a stirring ‘Song For Ireland’, with Mary’s strong velvet-like voice, ringing clear as a bell around the old beloved venue.

The tempo changed constantly during the night, and the band was quite magnificent throughout, marshalled by the great Bill Shanley on guitar, the aforementioned Richie Buckley, Pat Crowley on keys, Nick Scott on bass, and apparently dispatched with some speed as a very late replacement on drums, Rod Quinn. An extended play on ‘Fat Valley Of Pain’ allowed each musician to really show what they can do.

Micheal McGovern, who had earlier delivered a fine opening support slot, returned to the stage to help Mary with a rallying cry for the oppressed that is Bob Dylan’s ‘I Shall Be Released’.

Mary dedicated the song to her sister Frances, who continues to fight on behalf of the Palestinian people, and the Afghan people fighting famine. It’s a hugely emotive song and sung with great conviction and gusto.

The reasons for Mary Black’s success and status as a musical and national icon are clear. The beautiful voice, obviously, her skill at choosing special material and making a song her very own, her assembly of a superbly talented band.

But perhaps more than anything else, Mary Black connects with people. Her songs are delivered with style, and charm, and always with good grace. Her songs resonate with folk and live long after the music has stopped. There is an ability to interpret a song and make it personal to each person in the room and bind them together in a common experience. That is a rare talent.

We are lucky to have her.

"Woke up to see my latest album ‘Orchestrated’ No.1 in the Swedish iTunes chart! I thought my chart topping days were over ???? ????

Hope you’re all doing ok out there and coping in these difficult times. ???? "

-Mary

"This is a special recording of female Irish artists in support of Womensaid, singing No Frontiers together in both Irish and English. It was great to be part of this effort for a very worthy cause."

Mary

Women's Aid is a leading national organisation that has been working in Ireland to stop domestic violence against women and children since 1974.

Watch the video in the Video section

"I was hugely honoured to be asked by my dear friend Janis Ian to be part of a project she’s doing called the ‘Better Times Project’.

She asked a number of her musician friends to record (at home) a version of a song she wrote recently.

Since our time touring together back in the 90’s in Holland and Germany, we became great friends and have stayed in touch down through the years.

Janis is a wonderfully warm and giving person, with a huge talent as a singer songwriter, known throughout the world.

The lyrics and message in this song are so relevant in these troubled times.

The Pearl Foundation in the U.S. is Janis’s preferred charity, however if people would like to donate in Ireland, I’d like to nominate womensaid.ie, a charity close to my heart.

Stay safe,

Mary"

You can download a free copy of this song in the Discography section.

You can watch the video of the song in the Video section.

To donate to Women's Aid, please visit www.womensaid.ie

To view all other versions of this song in the Better Times project, please visit Janis Ian's website.

The album Mary Black Orchestrated will be released on vinyl on November 15th. The LP can already be pre-ordered in the webshop.

The album Mary Black Orchestrated with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra has been released on October 11th in shops and on digital streaming services.

You can also order the album here on this site.

'A great honour to have my favourite recordings orchestrated by the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Brian Byrne here at the National Concert Hall. Looking forward to the final result and a Mary Black Orchestrated album release in October.’ - Mary

The Documentary ‘Mary Black - No Frontiers’ airs tonight, Monday 9th of September at 21:35 on RTÉ One.

In this landmark documentary on Mary Black, widely regarded as the first lady of the Irish music industry, viewers are promised to gain a rare, unprecedented insight into her life and career.

This one-off programme gives us access to all elements of Mary’s life where, for the first time she opens up on topics close to her heart such as motherhood, mental health and the realities of being the biggest female singer in 1980s' Ireland.

From her early beginnings growing up in a tenement on Dublin’s Charlemont Street to her international success with songs such as A Song for Ireland and the blockbuster success of A Woman’s Heart, this is her journey from childhood to iconic Irish singer.

Contributors include a wide array of those closest to Mary: her husband and manager Joe O’Reilly, children Danny O’Reilly (lead singer with The Coronas), Roisin Ó and collaborator Eleanor McEvoy.

Performances include specially-recorded numbers featuring The Black Family, Mary’s band (Bill Shanley, Pat Crowley, Nick Scott) with guest appearances from Steve Cooney and Máire Breathnach.

Available on the RTÉ Player to the Island of Ireland at: www.rte.ie/player

Ireland’s Favourite Folk Song, launched on the Late Late Show on Jan. 18th, is a brand new RTÉ series and national campaign to identify and celebrate the songs that define us as a people.

“Folk music is in my blood. Many of these songs have shaped and defined my life. So I’m excited to be part of a conversation that celebrates our rich folk-song heritage” Mary Black

Throughout the centuries, folk music has immortalised the real, live experiences of the citizens who have lived on, or passed through this island. Ireland has a vast archive of beautiful folk songs, both in English and in Irish, which its citizens draw on in times of joy and sorrow, to entertain, or to capture big personal or historic moments. Many of these songs have been passed down through families for generations. Some of these songs were written by Irish people, some brought in from other cultures, but what sets folk music apart is that it captures the eternal stories, hopes and struggles of ordinary people.

And every one of us has a favourite: a song we sing at family events and get-togethers, or a song that is dear to us. And now RTÉ is asking the people of Ireland to tell us what their favourite songs are, and why.

Between now and 8th February, we’re asking you to log onto www.rte.ie/culture, click on the Nominate section and tell us what your favourite folk song is – and why you love it. It can be a love song, a political song, a song about nature, life, loss, emigration, whatever. It can be in Irish or in English. It can be an Irish song or an international folk song that we have taken to our hearts as a people. As long as it’s a folk song, and you love it, then it’s eligible for consideration.

Once we’ve gathered your nominations, an independent jury of music lovers and experts – see list below - will review the list and put together a shortlist of ten folk songs they feel best capture the public’s favourites, but also the spirit and story of Ireland. On 19th April, RTÉ will announce the 10 shortlisted folk songs to the nation in a special edition of The Ronan Collins Show on RTÉ Radio 1. Over the following five weeks, people will be invited to discuss the songs and tell us which one is their favourite of the 10.

To help people to make an informed choice, a brand new 5-part series, Ireland’s Favourite Folk Song, presented by internationally acclaimed Irish singer and folk legend Mary Black, begins on RTÉ One on 21st April. Each episode will tell the story behind two of the shortlisted songs. Audiences will be also able to discover more about each song across RTÉ Radio 1 and on rte.ie/culture.

The song chosen by you as the nation’s best-loved folk song will be announced live on The Late Late Show in May 2019.

We hope the public will embrace the spirit of this campaign, which is to celebrate one of the things we do best - and inspire the nation to sing, perform and love folk music.

For further information on the project and the selection process, please go to www.rte.ie/culture.

Mary is happy to announce the release of her new album “Mary Black Sings Jimmy MacCarthy” on November the 10th. 

The album contains eleven songs written by Jimmy, 6 previously recorded by Mary, 4 brand new recordings by Mary and a TV recording of a Mary and Jimmy duet.

1. No Frontiers
2. Adam At The Window
3. There Is No Night
4. Love’s Last Chance
5. Bright Blue Rose
6. What We Came Here For
7. Wonderchild
8. Katie
9. Mystic Lipstick
10. Another Day
11. As I Leave Behind Néidín (with Jimmy MacCarthy)

The album will be available on 10 November in shops in Ireland, on Mary’s website and on digital platforms such as iTunes and Spotify. 

“A while ago I got a call from Jimmy. He asked me how I would feel about this project 'Mary Black Sings Jimmy Mac'. Without hesitation, I said yes and loved the idea, but it was only when I got to his place in Kilkenny and heard him sing his new songs that I got really excited. What a joy after all these years to have such great lyrics and new songs to sing from Jimmy Mac.”  - Mary

More details about the album can be found in the Discography section.