Órla Fallon

Biography

Órlagh "Orla" Fallon (born 24 August 1974) is an Irish singer, songwriter and former member of the group Celtic Woman and the chamber choir Anúna.

Early life and education

Fallon was born in Knockananna, Ireland. She plays the harp and sings traditional Irish music, most often in the Irish language. Fallon studied at Mater Dei Institute of Education, in Dublin. She has performed for the Pope and the President of Ireland and at Carnegie Hall.

Early career

Fallon auditioned for Michael McGlynn and later joined Anúna.
Her debut album, The Water is Wide×The Water is Wide10 January 2006 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1She Moved Thro' the Fair3:572Aililiu Na Gamhna2:353Cad É sin Don Te Sin3:014Carrickfergus4:165Siúil A Rún3:476Down by the Sally Gardens3:357Na Buachailli Alainn1:598Raglan Road4:179The Gartan Mother's Lullaby3:0410An Mhaighdean Mhara3:1211The Water Is Wide3:25, was released in Europe in 2000 and in North America in 2006. In 2005, she was featured on The Duggans album Rubicon along with peers Moya Brennan and other members of Clannad.

Celtic Woman

In 2004, Fallon sent a demo offer to composer David Downes, who was then working on the concept of Celtic Woman. Due to her unique vocal abilities, Downes contacted Fallon and asked if she would like to be a part of Celtic Woman, then only envisaged to be a one-night show. She agreed and became one of the founding members of the group as a singer and harpist.
Fallon was featured in the self-titled debut album Celtic Woman, Celtic Woman: A Christmas Celebration and Celtic Woman: A New Journey as well as in the tie-in PBS television specials and DVDs filmed in 2004, 2007, and 2006 respectively. She also toured with the group in 2005 on the inaugural North American Tour, the 2006-07 A New Journey tour, and again in 2007–08 on the second A New Journey tour.
She wrote a song called Shooting Star for herself and performed it in the 2005 and 2006 Celtic Woman tours.
In 2009, Fallon announced that she would be leaving Celtic Woman to have a full break and spend time with her family and was replaced as a member of Celtic Woman by actress and vocalist Alex Sharpe.

Post-Celtic Woman

In 2009, Fallon appeared as a guest vocalist on Jim Brickman's "It's a Beautiful World" tour and PBS special and released her second album Distant Shore×Distant Shore18 September 2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Who Knows4:372Distant Shore4:303Dancing in the Moonlight3:564My Land3:575Shooting Star3:166Bean an Tí2:527Always There4:098Voices on the Wind4:489Simple Love4:3010My Waking World3:5511Eleanor Plunkett - Trip to Shanbally - Michael O'Dwyer's4:4312You'll Never Be the Sun4:0613Hard Times3:44Disc 21Who Knows (Acoustic Version)3:25 (which included her own Shooting Star song) in September of that year. This was followed in March 2010 with her third album Music of Ireland: Welcome Home. In December 2010, Fallon released a PBS Celtic Christmas special and tie-in CD, titled Órla Fallon's Celtic Christmas, the first time any former Celtic Woman member had starred in their own PBS special. In this special, as well as Fallon's own songs, there were also songs which featured a few guest singers, including former fellow Celtic Woman member Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, in which they sang a duet together ("Do you hear what I hear"), and American Idol runner up David Archuleta, who joined Fallon on stage to perform "Silent Night", "Patapan", and the finale song of "Here we come A-Wassailing", which Ní Mhaolchatha was also featured in. This was the second Christmas album she recorded, the first being Winter, Fire & Snow: A Celtic Christmas Collection×Celtic Christmas Collection17 November 2023 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 35 tracks1Good King Wenceslas4:362Mary, Did You Know?3:103The Wexford Carol4:454It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas2:285Christmas 19153:476O Little Town Of Bethlehem3:057Wassailing4:008In The Bleak Mid-Winter4:129The Christmas Song3:3410Patapan3:3111Away In A Manger/Si Bheag Si Mhor (Medley)3:0712Carol Of The Bells1:2513The First Noel5:0914Comfort Ye2:5015Oh Holy Night4:4516Going Home For Christmas3:0817Christmas Day In The Morning4:4818Fairytale Of New York4:0019Away In A Manger2:4020Pat A Pan/Noel Nouvelet (Medley)4:3821God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen4:1822Gaudete2:2223Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow2:3624Don Oiche Ud I mBeithil3:0325Christmas Morning, Donegal3:5626I Saw Three Ships5:1027In Dulci Jubilo/Sgt. Cahill's Favorite (Medley)2:4428Gabriel's Message2:5029Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas1:5830Silent Night3:4531Codail A Linbh4:0332God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen1:5533Baby, It's Cold Outside3:3634O Holy Night4:0035What Child Is This?4:34 in September 2010.
In March 2011, Fallon released another album, Órla Fallon: My Land×My Land2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Mo Ghile Mear3:562Distant Shore4:333Morning Has Broken2:534Ni Na La2:165Down To The River To Pray1:526Isle of Innisfree3:327Both Sides Now3:418Red is the Rose4:319My Land4:1910Spanish Lady3:0711I'll Tell Me Ma3:04, which tied in with another PBS special. Both PBS specials were produced by The Elevation Group and WNET. Another solo album, Lullaby Time×Lullaby Time1 December 2012 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1Lullaby Time3:132Stay Awake2:563Yellow3:364Nobody but the Baby1:545Suantrai (Brahms Lullaby)2:386La La Lu2:297When You Wish Upon a Star1:568Golden Slumbers2:249Slumber My Darling3:3110Oo Ra Lay2:3511Lay Your Head Down Darling4:0312Far Off Place3:2713Baby Mine2:4114Who Knows3:2715Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep2:06, was released in 2012.

Personal life

She has been married to John Comerford since 1997 and has a son named Freddie, who was born in 2012.