2020 Obit: Anne Byrne

Subject: Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Colin Randall
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 08:29 AM

Through a chance exchange with a family member, I learn with much sadness of the death of Anne Byrne, a hugely gifted Irish singer from Dun Laoghaire (for a reason I. I longer recall I had always thought she was from Belfast and the exchange concerned correcting a reference at my site Salut! Live.

I’m afraid I have no further details though I expect to hear more and will in due course post something (and repeat here). At Anne’s own site Https://Annebyrne.com appears this full account of her early career and a description of her decision to retreat from active performance to concentrate on her family. RIP

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,JHW
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 04:31 PM

I'm afraid I never knew Anne Byrne but I did know Colin Randall.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,colin Randall
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 05:07 PM

Very kind of you to use even that pretext to bump up my little post from the lower reaches of the EFL. (There’s the Sunderland talking). JHW? I’m not too well just now (yep) but will ponder those initials

As for Anne, I knew her simply through her music . I wrote about her version of Croppy Boy and have enjoyed lots of other examples of her work, from a Dylan cover (It’s all over now baby blue to Mary Hamilton) and just thought her passing deserved mention

I’m a subscriber here btw. Just too fiddly to log in from a phone

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Felipa
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 06:43 PM

very sorry to read this
There is a Mudcat thread along the lines of whatever happened to Anne Byrne.

I think Ann Byrne is a singer on an lp album I have with a Jesse Owens at the Irish Tavern.
I remember her singing at Tommy Makem's Irish Pavillion in NYC, must have been circa 1969-70.
Someone told me of Anne visiting Buncrana Inishowen Co Donegal and swimming with seals in Loch Swilly

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 07:44 PM

She certainly sang with Jesse Owens, Felipa. I shall definitely ask my contact from the family about swimming with seals ! You’ll find lots of listening on YouTube by just searching her name

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Joe Offer
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 08:01 PM

Anne's Website is https://annebyrne.com/. No report of the death on her Website.

-Joe-

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 31 Dec 20 - 09:01 PM

I am so very sad to hear of Anne Byrne's passing. I have been a huge fan of her music for many years. I was lucky to have found most of her albums over the years. I live in California and found a few of her albums in used record shops here but found most in record shops in London when I was visiting there in the 1980's.
I just had to try and find all her albums including the ones where she sang on some of the Abbey Tavern albums.
I'm not sure if I have everything she ever recorded but probably have the majority of albums (all vinyl.)

My sincere condolences to her husband, sons and all her family members
and friends.
What an incredibly talented lady!

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Gealt
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 05:41 AM

From RIP.ie:
The death has occurred of Anne Marie Roche (née Byrne)
Dun Laoghaire, Dublin
        

Roche (nee Byrne) Dun Laoghaire Co. Dublin, December 28th 2020 peacefully at home Anne Marie beloved wife of Patrick and loving mother of Jason, Oisin and the late baby Patrick. Sadly missed by her loving husband, sons, her mother Bridget Byrne (Queenie), her sisters Angela, Maureen, Marian, Rosaleen and her brother Eamonn,daughter-in-law Ciara, her grandchildren Ruadhan,Finn,Edmund, Will and Ginevra and her mother Natalia, relatives and friends.
Rest in Peace

Removal from Sheahan's Funeral Home, 71 Upper Georges Street, Dun Laoghaire to St. Michael's Church on Monday arriving for 10 o'c. Requiem Mass. Funeral immediately afterwards to Mount Jerome Crematorium for a private family funeral. Live streaming may be viewed at Mount Jerome at 12.15pm on www.vimeo.com/event/153499. Messages of condolences may be left in the condolence section below.
Date Published: Wednesday 30th December 2020
Date of Death: Monday 28th December 2020

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Waddon Pete
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 12:41 PM

Sad news. Anne was a wonderful singer. It's worth checking her out online if you haven't already done so. My condolences to all those who love and miss her. I have entered her into the "In Memoriam" thread. RIP

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Colin Randall
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 03:20 PM

I am relieved that others appreciated her, too. I am sure proper obits will appear in the Irish Times and elsewhere (if not already - I found nothing before posting my item) and the family member who informed me of Anne's death, while naturally pre-occupied, intends to send me some info and thoughts so that I can record her passing at my site and, as promised above, share here.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 05:16 PM

To Colin Randall,

I have been so upset and sad to hear of Anne's passing.
I knew that she had some major health issues in recent years and had hoped that she would get better.
I was in touch with her husband Patrick many years ago by email a few times as I was interested to find out if any of Anne's albums were going to be released on CD format. At the time, due to various reasons, this had not been done yet. Over the years I have told many people about Anne's music and let them know about this extremely talented lady. Even though I have the majority of her albums I would love to go on Youtube to watch her videos and would share with friends too.

What ever update you can provide will be appreciated.

Lin
In California

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Colin Randall
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 05:58 PM

Will do, Lin. I'm holding fire until the son I'm in touch with has time to help (which he wants to do).

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 01 Jan 21 - 06:41 PM

Thank you Colin. I appreciate it.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 04 Jan 21 - 07:45 PM

Are there any updates about the passing of Anne Byrne?

I don't know what the cause of death was from but I hope she didn't suffer too long.

I could not find anything about her passing when I looked at her web site a few days ago.

I am just so sad, hearing of her passing. I can't even begin to say how often I listened to Anne's music through the years. Owning the majority of her albums and watching her videos on Youtube frequently.
Just a huge fan....and always will be.

My thoughts and prayers to her husband,Patrick, sons, Jason and Oisin and
and other members of her family & friends.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: beachcomber
Date: 05 Jan 21 - 09:55 AM

How sad. I always thought that Anne Byrne had a beautiful voice , she rivalled Joan Baez for me.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Colin Randall
Date: 05 Jan 21 - 10:27 AM

I’m still waiting to hear more from the family , Lin , and am disinclined to pester.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Colin Randall
Date: 23 Jan 21 - 06:33 AM

Lin: I have now heard from Anne’s son and will be posting something in the coming days. I shall add a link here

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Colin Randall
Date: 23 Jan 21 - 11:28 AM

Anne's son, Jason, has provided a short tribute to his mother which I have now posted. As promised, the link is https://www.salutlive.com/2021/01/anne-byrne-rip.html

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 25 Jan 21 - 03:19 AM

To Colin,

Thank you for sending the link for the tribute her son Jason wrote. Are you a friend of the family and live in Ireland?
I still feel really very sad about Anne's passing.
Her music has meant so much to me for a long time. Over the years I would try to read as much as I could find about her music career, and what she was doing in recent years.

I've told so many people about Anne's music and always described her as my favourite female Irish winger and actually one of my all time ever favourites, along with Joan Baez, Sandy Denny, Judy Collins, Linda Ronstadt, Jacqui McShee (of Pentangle). I would tell people, Anne's voice was up there in talent with all these famous singers.

May Anne Byrne be singing with the angels now...

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 25 Jan 21 - 03:29 AM

Sorry, I made a typo in my above message.
I meant to type "singer" (Not Irish "winger")
I don't know how to correct (edit) once you submit your message.
On YouTube you can edit and make a correction after you submit your message or comments but I don't know how to do it on Mudcat. It's after midnight and very tired so sorry about the typo in previous message,

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Colin Randall
Date: 25 Jan 21 - 04:37 PM

Lin: not Irish, not living in Ireland though I know the country and its music well. Just an ageing journalist with a labour-of-love folk music website and, as of today, an anti-Covid jab in the arm. The obit arises from a chance exchange with Anne’s son, Jason, and that is the extent of my links with the family.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Colin Randall
Date: 26 Jan 21 - 03:51 PM

Joe Offer says obit threads often miss out useful information about the subject. So this, after my introduction, is how Anne's son Jason described his mother life. It's from my Salut! Live site to which you'll find links above ....



    Just over three years ago, I published a whimsical edition of the Cover Story series about The Croppy Boy, a melancholy song of rebellion, capture and execution from the Irish rising of 1798. One version I briefly discussed was by the Dubliners, the other Anne Byrne.

    Ronnie Drew, who took the lead vocals for the Dubliners' interpretation, died in 2008, aged 74. Anne, who grew up a few streets from Ronnie's home in Dun Laoghaire and knew him well, was 78 when she passed away between Christmas and New Year.

The Cover Story article was whimsical because it was inspired by the appearance of an Irish-owned cafe to take the place of a recently closed Nepalese restaurant around the corner from my home in west London.

The nameplate I watched being installed announced the cafe as The Croppy Boy, though this proved a short-lived choice and it is as The Horseshoe that it now trades in takeaway-only lockdown form.

My 2017 article drew a belated response from Anne's son Jason after her death. He was correcting my mistaken memory that his mother was a native of Belfast.

And of course, he broke the sad news. I posted a mention on the Mudcat folk music message board since I had seen no report in any media outlet of Anne's death. I invited Jason to contribute a few words about a woman we agree was "immensely talented" and this is the result:

(JASON takes over)

Anne Byrne was born in Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin in 1943.

She was gifted with a beautiful singing voice which became apparent at an early age, earning her many awards and recognition even in her teens.

Much of her early experience of taking to the stage was in the form of pantomime and musicals which was part of a family tradition going back generations.

Soon her talents were noticed and she found herself recording and touring with a singer called Jesse Owens, playing popular ballads and folk songs.

They recorded two albums together and she began to make a name for herself both in Ireland and internationally. She toured much of Europe at this time.

Her beautiful voice came to the attention of a number of producers and with the folk boom just starting she began to record as a solo artist, releasing three albums across a period of seven years.

Anne recorded many of the best Irish and English folk songs, performing outstanding renditions of The Foggy Dew, Willie O'Winsbury and The Wind That Shakes the Barley. Willie O'Winsbury, from a 1974 album, Come By the Hills, is the song I have chosen [below] to illustrate my mother's artistry.

She also covered songs by Bob Dylan, Gordon Lighfoot and Eric Anderson. Her music became popular in the United States and she lived and toured there during this period, even getting to play the famous Newport Folk Festival. She also started a family, marrying Patrick Roche, a musician and artist, and had three children, Patrick, Jason and Oisin.

Anne was in high demand at this time and when she returned from America she was a regular in the hot spots of the Irish folk scene, The Embankment in Tallaght, the Coffee Kitchen and of course O'Donoghue's pub in Dublin. It was here that she performed with the Dubliners, the Chieftains and many other famous Irish musicians.

Alas, the pressure of touring and recording while bringing up a young family was too much to bear and Anne retired from singing professionally in 1980, devoting the rest of her life to her family and friends.

She retained a keen interest in music with a particular love of the music of Kate Bush and Bruce Springsteen. She continued to sing in private settings, for family and friends, for many years after.

Sadly she passed away on the 28th December 2020 and is survived by her husband. Jason and Oisin. Patrick died in infancy.

    * From Lin at the Mudcat thread:

    'I am so very sad to hear of Anne Byrne's passing. I have been a huge fan of her music for many years. I was lucky to have found most of her albums over the years. I live in California and found a few of her albums in used record shops here but found most in record shops in London when I was visiting there in the 1980s. I just had to try and find all her albums including the ones where she sang on some of the Abbey Tavern albums.I'm not sure if I have everything she ever recorded but probably have the majority of albums (all vinyl). My sincere condolences to her husband, sons and all her family members and friends. What an incredibly talented lady!'

    * Beachcomber: 'How sad. I always thought that Anne Byrne had a beautiful voice , she rivalled Joan Baez for me.'

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Martin Collins
Date: 29 Jan 21 - 09:12 AM

I just couldn't believe it when I made my occasional visit to the Mudcat website last night to learn that Anne had passed away just a month ago. Anne, along with her uncle, the late Willie Brady, was one of the finest Ballad Singers I ever heard. First with Jesse Owens and later with her husband, Paddy Roche,she provided some wonderful entertainment during the late 1960s and early 1970s. We males are not supposed to cry but I have to admit I shed some bitter tears last night when I first learned of her passing. I have just posted my condolences to Anne's family on the RIP.IE Website.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Lin
Date: 29 Jan 21 - 08:11 PM

To Guest Martin Collins,
Yes, I too have shed some tears when I heard the awful news last month about Anne passing away.
I have been a fan for ages and believe I have all of her record albums accept for one single record that I don't have in my collection.
I can't tell you how often I have gone to Youtube for several years now to see the many videos of Anne's.
How did you first come to know of her music?

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST
Date: 30 Jan 21 - 05:24 PM

To Guest Lin,
Oh Lin - that is superb – you having all Anne’s albums, bar one. Unfortunately I don’t have an exact date when I first heard her, but I know it was during the early days of Irish television which was established on New Year’s Eve 1961 but didn’t reach the rest of the country (where I live) until January 1963. I have a recollection of seeing herself and Jesse Owens sometime in October 1964 in a TV programme called ‘Ballad Session’. Unfortunately our Television service at that time and for many years afterwards did not keep recordings of those programmes, so what we now see on You Tube are the few programmes that they did preserve. And of course we should be very grateful that they did preserve those programmes.
Two of the last times I heard her performing live were again on television in 1971 and 1974. As you know she linked up with her husband Paddy Roche sometime in mid 1966 and both of them performed on the ‘Late Late Show’ (the Irish version of the ‘Johnny Carson Show’). Those two broadcasts took place live on 1st May 1971 and the 2nd February 1974. And again, as far as I know, both those programmes were never preserved.
So congratulations again Lin on your superb collection.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: Felipa
Date: 12 Feb 21 - 03:59 PM

I have to correct myself about Anne swimming with seals off the Donegal coast. It was Anne Briggs who swam with seals. I think it was a man named Noel McLaughlin who told me the tale.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST,Marty
Date: 10 Aug 21 - 11:56 PM

Recently on YouTube, I stumbled upon a live Video of Anne singing Lily Of The West with Jesse Owens. Although a life long fan of Joan Baez since 1962, the sheer beauty of Anne’s voice, floored me. I began searching YouTube for more of Anne Byrne. I discovered Mary Hamilton, Come By The Hills & The Foggy Dew. I obtained one of her recordings on Discogs. I am saddened that I only discovered her after she passed away. She came upon the 60s Folk Scene here in the U.S. a little too late. She was a treasure.

Subject: RE: 2020 Obit: Anne Byrne
From: GUEST, Lin
Date: 11 Aug 21 - 09:16 PM

To Guest Marty,

Yes, I have also been a long, long time fan of Anne Byrne & Joan Baez. I live in USA but came to know of Anne's music during the 1980's. I am from UK originally and when I was visiting England & Ireland during the 1980's, I started to find Anne's albums in various record shops but later found a few of her albums in the L.A. area.

Since you are a fan of this kind of beautiful folk voice, you might enjoy the singing of American folk singer, Dayle Stanley from Massachusetts. She only had two LP's released in the 1960's. I have both and really enjoy her singing.
My two favorite songs are her cover of "Shenandoah" and an original song called "Letter from the Willow Tree."

She has that lovely soaring soprano folk voice that I love.
Sadly, she passed away earlier this year I believe.
Her songs can be heard on Youtube. Just type in her name,
Dayle Stanley and it will bring up all the songs from her two albums. Never released on CD's.

Subject: RE: Anne Byrne: What does she now?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 10 Jul 22 - 10:57 PM

Please notice the download page posted by Anne's husband:

http://annebyrne.com/downloads.php