Mairin Ui Cheide was born in July, 1958 in Leitirmoir, the heart of the rural Connemara Gaeltacht, like other rural places in Ireland except that Irish was spoken by almost everyone except those in authority or the professions. Most of the food came from the surrounding land, with farm neighbors fishing for supplemental income and food. Surrounded there by a strong oral tradition, it seems to Mairin that she has been singing all of her life.

Mairin sings her sean nos with pride and an awareness that it is her duty to pass it on. She has taught Irish language and singing for many years, maintaining the oral nature of the transmission of the culture as much as possible, and presently teaches a class for children in Dorchester. She hosts a radio program on WNTN completely in Gaeilge every Saturday as part of Larry and Sean Reynolds’ “Sound of Erin” team. And Mairin continues to sing the rich, old Irish liturgical music and the folk music of her childhood in the Gaeltacht.