Margaret Barry

Margaret Barry’s 1950s recordings safeguarded Ireland’s longstanding folk songs and ballads for later generations. Delivering her robust yet unschooled singing over simple, rural banjo strumming, she shaped the sound of trad-rock ensembles including Fairport Convention, Pentangle, and Steeleye Span. Her version of “I Sang Through the Fair” prompted countless reinterpretations and established the piece as a staple of Celtic repertoire. Barry launched her career performing for passersby on the streets of Dublin, yet it was folklorist Alan Lomax’s 1953 field recordings that brought her to worldwide notice. She then relocated to London and took on domestic duties as Lomax’s housekeeper and cook. Over an extended period she regularly performed alongside fiddler Michael Gorman, whom she first encountered during a 1953 BBC broadcast of traditional music that Lomax himself presented. Beyond her stock of Irish material, Barry also sang numerous English art songs and ballads.