A Woman's Heart (compilation album)

A Woman's Heart is a compilation of twelve tracks performed by six female Irish artists, namely Eleanor McEvoy, Mary Black, Dolores Keane, Sharon Shannon, Frances Black and Maura O'Connell. The album was released in July 1992 and sold over 750,000 copies, more than any other album in Irish chart history[1] and nearly one million copies worldwide.[2]

A Woman's Heart
Compilation album by
various
ReleasedJuly 1992
GenreFolk
LabelDara
ProducerJoe O'Reilly

The 20th anniversary of its release was celebrated with four sold-out performances at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Eleanor McEvoy, Mary Coughlan, Sharon Shannon, Dolores Keane, Wallis Bird and Hermione Hennessy were on the bill.

In April 2012, Kiera Murphy produced a documentary entitled Our Woman's Hearts which explores how A Woman's Heart came about, why it became so popular, and the effect it has had on three generations of some Irish women.[3] The documentary was a part of RTÉ Radio 1's series Documentary on One.

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra performed an orchestrated version of the album with McEvoy, O'Connell and Wallis Bird in February 2020 at the National Concert Hall,[4] and a similar concert has been announced for May 2022 in the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre.[5]

"The Secret of Living", written by Eleanor McEvoy was released in July 2012 to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the A Woman's Heart. The song is performed by Eleanor McEvoy, Mary Coughlan, Sharon Shannon, Gemma Hayes and Hermione Hennessey.

Track listing

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  1. "Only a Woman's Heart" (Eleanor McEvoy) – Eleanor McEvoy and Mary Black
  2. "Caledonia" (Dougie MacLean) – Dolores Keane
  3. "Vanities" (Noel Brazil) – Mary Black
  4. "Blackbird" (traditional) – Sharon Shannon
  5. "Wall of Tears" (Richard Leigh / Peter McCann) – Frances Black
  6. "Summerfly" (Cheryl Wheeler) – Maura O'Connell
  7. "The Island" (Paul Brady) – Dolores Keane
  8. "I Hear You Breathing In" (McEvoy) – Eleanor McEvoy
  9. "Sonny" (Ron Hynes; last verse added by Hamish Imlach) – Mary Black
  10. "Coridinio" (traditional) – Sharon Shannon
  11. "Living in These Troubled Times" (Sam Hogin, Roger Cook and Philip Donnelly) – Maura O'Connell
  12. "After the Ball" (traditional) – Frances Black

References

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  1. ^ "Only A Woman's Heart". Billboard.com.
  2. ^ Calnan, Denise (24 July 2013). "'A Woman's Heart' artists back together after 21 years and 750,000 copies". Independent. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Our Women's Hearts". RTÉ.ie. 26 June 2012.
  4. ^ Hayden, Jackie. "Live Report: A Woman's Heart Orchestrated at the National Concert Hall". Hotpress.
  5. ^ Gough, Ellen. "RTÉ Concert Orchestra presents 'A Woman's Heart Orchestrated' in 2022". Hotpress.