Siobhán O’Brien is an Irish singer-songwriter, storyteller and cultural host whose career has taken her from the traditional music culture of Ireland to stages and audiences across the United States and internationally.

A fourth-generation musician with a lifelong connection to Irish music and storytelling, Siobhán began performing and recording as a child and has spent decades developing a distinctive voice that bridges Irish traditional music, folk, rock, Americana and contemporary songwriting.

Her career highlights include performing as a guest vocalist with The Chieftains at Boston Symphony Hall in 2008, appearing as a guest vocalist with the San Diego Symphony for St. Patrick’s Day in 2010, being invited on stage by Bob Dylan, performing on Irish television, appearing at SXSW in Austin, and sharing stages with artists including Christy Moore, Donovan, Sharon Shannon, Paul Brady, Maria McKee, Damien Dempsey, Mick Flannery, Henry McCullough and The Cranberries.

After years of bringing Irish music to audiences around the world, Siobhán is now reimagining that experience at home in County Clare, where she welcomes visitors into her traditional Irish cottage to experience Ireland through music, storytelling, food, tradition and personal connection.

Her new venture, Siobhán O’Brien’s Irish Traditional Cottage Experience, is an intimate cultural experience centred around the things that have always been at the heart of her life: Irish music, stories, hospitality, heritage and the simple pleasure of gathering around the fire.

FROM THE STAGE TO THE COTTAGE

For much of her career, Siobhán's relationship with Ireland has been expressed through song.

She has performed Irish music for audiences across Ireland, the UK and the United States, carrying the stories, humour, heartbreak and resilience of Irish life with her wherever she travelled.

Now, having returned to County Clare, she is creating a different kind of stage.

Her traditional Irish cottage becomes the setting where visitors can step beyond simply seeing Ireland and instead experience a little of what it feels like to be welcomed into it.

Visitors can share soda bread around the fire, hear traditional Irish songs and stories, learn about Irish customs and local life, and experience the warmth and informality of an authentic Irish welcome.

This new chapter brings together Siobhán's two worlds: her international career as a musician and her deep personal connection to the people, places, stories and traditions of Ireland.

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

The Chieftains — Boston Symphony Hall, 2008

In 2008, Siobhán was invited to perform as a guest vocalist with The Chieftains at Boston Symphony Hall, singing Lakes of Pontchartrain with the legendary Irish group.

The performance followed the release of her album Songs I Grew Up To, which featured Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains. Contemporary coverage of the Boston performance described her as a guest singer on the Chieftains' 2008 tour, with Paddy Moloney praising her voice.

San Diego Symphony — St. Patrick’s Day, 2010

In 2010, Siobhán appeared as a guest vocalist with the San Diego Symphony in California for its Music of the Emerald Isle St. Patrick's Day concert at Symphony Hall. Contemporary San Diego coverage specifically highlighted her appearance and her connection with The Chieftains.

Bob Dylan

One of the most memorable moments of Siobhán's career came when Bob Dylan invited her to join him on stage following an impromptu encounter in Dublin.

The story has become part of Siobhán's musical journey and reflects the remarkable connections her songwriting and performances have created throughout her career. The story has also been reported in Irish press and in her published artist biographies.

International Performance Career

Siobhán has performed across Ireland, the United Kingdom and the United States, including performances in New York, Boston, Nashville, California, Austin and other American cities.

She moved to the United States in 2017 to pursue her songwriting career full-time. Within weeks of arriving, she secured an opening slot at the Birchmere Music Hall for English songwriter Nick Lowe and was subsequently selected for the Folk-DJ Showcase at the North East Regional Folk Alliance (NERFA).

She later recorded her album You Can't Run Out Of Love in Austin with co-producers John Bush and Matt Hubbard, musicians associated with Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians. The album was released in 2020 and featured ten original songs reflecting her experiences of life, change and pursuing music in America.

SELECTED PERFORMANCE & ARTISTIC CREDITS

Guest Vocalist — The Chieftains
Boston Symphony Hall, Massachusetts — 2008

Guest Vocalist — San Diego Symphony
Symphony Hall, San Diego, California — St. Patrick's Day 2010

Asked to sing by Bob Dylan at Tosca Restaurant , Suffolk St, Dublin (Feb 5th 1993)

Opening Artist — Nick Lowe
Birchmere Music Hall, Washington, DC

Folk-DJ Showcase Artist — NERFA

SXSW Showcase Artist
Austin, Texas — 1999

RTE Television — Seoige & O'Shea
Performed All My Trials — 2008

TG4 — POP4

The Late Late Show

Nationwide

Siobhán has also performed alongside or supported artists including The Cranberries, Christy Moore, Donovan, Sharon Shannon, Paul Brady, Maria McKee, Damien Dempsey, Mick Flannery and Henry McCullough, among others.

SONGWRITING & RECORDING CAREER

Siobhán's songwriting career has developed alongside her performing career, with her music drawing from Irish traditional music as well as folk, blues, rock, Americana and the great singer-songwriter tradition.

She made her first recording as a child and comes from four generations of musicians. She is also the niece of celebrated Irish entertainer Brendan Bowyer of The Royal Showband.

Her recorded work includes:

• Mumbo Jumbo

• Like a Habit

• Cat's Eyes

• Songs I Grew Up To

• You Can't Run Out Of Love

• Sometimes It Takes A Dutchman

• The Banks of the Abbey

Her 2008 album Songs I Grew Up To featured Paddy Moloney of The Chieftains, as well as other notable musical collaborators.

SELECTED ACCOLADES & MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS

Unisong International Songwriting Competition
Selected among the top 10% of undiscovered songwriters internationally — 1996.

Hot Press — Single of the Fortnight
Like a Habit — 1996.

Irish Indie Chart
Like a Habit reached No. 4 — 1997.

Irish Unplugged Songs
Guilty of Despair and He Said I Said selected among the top four unplugged songs of the year — 1998/1999.

SXSW — Austin, Texas
Showcased as an independent artist — 1999.

Hot Press — Pick of the Fortnight
Beautiful Bodies — 2007.

Irish Indie Chart
Beautiful Bodies reached No. 1 and remained there for 15 weeks — 2007.

Sirius Satellite Radio — New York
Airplay for Beautiful Bodies and My Man.

GarageBand.com
Beautiful Bodies — Track of the Day.

Unisong International
My Man — Honourable Mention.

Matchbox Recordings — UK
All My Trials included on a British compilation album — 2008.

These career achievements are documented in published artist biographies and music-industry profiles.

RECORDING ARTIST — YOU CAN'T RUN OUT OF LOVE

Released in 2020, You Can't Run Out Of Love represented a new chapter in Siobhán's songwriting journey.

Recorded in Austin, Texas, the album was produced with John Bush and Matt Hubbard, musicians from Edie Brickell & The New Bohemians, and explored themes of love, resilience, change, identity and the experience of building a new life far from home.

The album brought together Siobhán's Irish roots with the influence of American folk, rock and singer-songwriter traditions.

NEW MUSIC — THE IRISH IN ME

Siobhán is currently recording a new album, The Irish In Me, a deeply personal project that brings her musical journey full circle.

The album draws from the Ireland that has always been at the centre of her songwriting, combining original songs with the experiences, characters, places and memories that have shaped her life.

Among the original songs is “Sometimes It Takes A Dutchman,” inspired by a true County Clare story involving two hikers who became lost in the Burren and were welcomed into a remote cottage by Harry the Dutchman. The song celebrates the quintessential Irish tradition of hospitality — the idea of Céad Míle Fáilte, a hundred thousand welcomes.

The project also includes the deeply personal “The Banks of the Abbey,” written in memory of Siobhán's late father, who was her greatest supporter and fan.

Together, these songs reflect what has become central to Siobhán's work: place, people, memory, Irishness and the stories that connect us.

IRISH TRADITIONAL COTTAGE EXPERIENCE

A New Chapter in County Clare

Today, Siobhán is bringing everything she has learned through a lifetime of music, travel and storytelling into a new cultural experience in her traditional Irish cottage in County Clare.

This is not simply a tour.

It is an opportunity for visitors to experience Irish culture through music, food, storytelling and hospitality, hosted personally by someone whose entire life has been shaped by Irish music and tradition.

Guests are welcomed into Siobhán's cottage to experience elements of traditional Irish life, including making and sharing soda bread, gathering around the turf fire, hearing Irish songs and ballads, and listening to stories of Ireland, County Clare and the people and places that have inspired her.

The experience is particularly personal because Siobhán isn't simply explaining Irish culture from a distance — she is sharing the Ireland she has lived, loved, left, returned to and carried with her around the world.

Her years performing Irish music internationally now become part of the visitor experience.

The stories that once travelled with her on stages across America can now be heard in the place where they belong: at home in Ireland.

CULTURAL HOST & STORYTELLER

Siobhán's approach to hosting is rooted in the Irish tradition of conversation, storytelling and hospitality.

Her experience performing for audiences around the world has given her a natural ability to connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Whether welcoming visitors who are discovering Ireland for the first time or people returning to reconnect with their Irish ancestry, Siobhán creates an informal environment where guests can ask questions, share stories and experience Ireland through a personal local perspective.

Her aim is simple:

To give visitors more than a photograph of Ireland — to give them a memory of Ireland.

CORE AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Irish Culture & Heritage
Traditional music, Irish customs, storytelling and cultural traditions.

County Clare & West Coast Ireland
Local knowledge, landscapes, communities, history and cultural connections.

Traditional Irish Music
Irish ballads, folk songs, storytelling through music and the history behind the songs.

Storytelling & Hosting
Creating warm, engaging experiences for international visitors and groups.

Irish Food Traditions
Traditional soda bread and the cultural significance of food and hospitality in Irish life.

Songwriting & Performance
Decades of experience as a professional singer-songwriter and recording artist.

International Cultural Connection
Extensive experience communicating Irish culture to audiences in Ireland, the UK and the United States.

THE NEXT CHAPTER

After a lifetime spent travelling the world with a guitar, a collection of songs and the stories of Ireland in her heart, Siobhán O’Brien is returning to the simplest form of Irish hospitality:

Open the door.
Light the fire.
Put the kettle on.
Tell a story.
Sing a song.
Break bread together.

Her new Irish Traditional Cottage Experience is the natural evolution of a life in music — bringing together the performer, songwriter, storyteller, Irish woman and host in one intimate experience.

From Boston Symphony Hall with The Chieftains to a turf fire in County Clare, the journey has always been about the same thing:

connection.

And now, Siobhán is inviting visitors to experience it for themselves.