Mairead

MAIRÉAD

Mairéad was born clinically deaf on the 29th of January 1986 in a small town called Navan in County Meath in Ireland and although her start in life might of been a silent one a Rock & Roll life was sure to follow!!!.

A strong and determined girl by the age 15 she had already undergone 15 surgeries to try and regain some of her hearing which luckily proved to be a great success with Mairéad currently having 30% hearing in her left ear and a super 90% in her right!

Mairéad first showed a talent for performing at the age of five, when her auntie noticed she had an incredibly good singing voice while she practised a song she had learned at school that day. Amazed she cleared the kitchen table so Mairéad could stand on it and asked her to sing for her mother who was shocked to see how this little girl could hold a tune against all odds!

Soon after that day Mairéad was enrolled into The Billie Barry Stage School in Dublin where she was a student up until the age of seventeen. She trained in singing, dancing and acting alongside some of Irelands biggest stars including Brian Mcfadden a former member of Boy Band Westlife

In the time Mairéad spent at Billie Barrys she starred in many productions in the Famous Gaiety Theatre and the National Concert Hall. At sixteen she landed the lead role as Sleeping Beauty and became the youngest leading lady to tread the boards of the Gaiety Theatre.

With ninety-eight shows under her belt Mairéad was in need of a long deserved break and decided to take the time out to concentrate on her true passion Rock & Roll.

Fate would have it that after making this huge decision Mairéad received a phone call from Sinead O’Carroll a former member of Irish Pop Sensation Bewitched to audition for a female rock/pop group she was putting together. She jumped at the opportunity and after a second audition became the fourth member of the band which was to be known as Minx.

Her time in the band was a great introduction to the music industry. Mairéad performed at some amazing events such as “o2 in the park” alongside Girls Aloud and Westlife, and in some of the biggest venues including Wembley Arena as support act for Blazing Squad, Blue and Liberty X.

After two years the band came to an end but Mairéad’s passion and drive to succeed in the industry was just beginning.

Rock has always been a heavy influence in Mairéad’s up bringing. Growing up she listened to bands like Nirvana, Guns n Roses and Alanis Morrisette, and eventually following in the steps of her idols she began to play the guitar which is when she discovered that she had an ability for song writing.

The split of the band came as Mairéad’s song writing began to be recognised.
In September 2007 Mairéad auditioned for “You’re A Star” an Irish replica of Xfactor created by Louis Walsh where she was selected from a nation wide search to be in the top ten. The show aired weekly on RTE and was watched by over 8 million viewers.

The highlight of the show for Mairéad was being able to perform one of her own songs, which she later released independently and which charted on the Digital Chart.

Also on the show was performance coach and music producer Troy Antunes aka Funky Silhouette. Troy has been a part of the music Industry for over 25 years. He has been blessed with the unique opportunity to have worked with recent pop music history’s most successful artists as a touring musician and assistant Musical Director. Troy has worked with the likes of The Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake, NSYNC, Britney Spears, Gloria Estefan, Tim McGraw, Marky Mark, Blue and Ciara to name a few.

On seeing Mairéad perform he knew instantly that he wanted to work with her and that she had a great marketability and in September 2008 Mairèad was signed to his production label FunkyViva Productions.

Mairéad has been in development for the past 18 months where together with Troy and his partner Vivianna a talented singer/song writer currently releasing in Italy they have homed in and defined Mairéad’s sound. While keeping very true to authentic old school Rock and Roll Mairéad is delivering a combination of quirky but powerful vocals laced on heavy guitar riffs.
Her sound is unique and modern but modelled on the greats such as Joan Jett and Pat Benitar.
Her self penned debut album “Death To The X” promises to leave you breathless.

If there is one thing to be said about Mairéad it’s that she is a true fighter, her motto in life is, “One Life, One Chance”!
Even though the road so far has not been easy and regardless of the fact that she has more obstacles to overcome than the average singer one thing is certainly clear ..
This Girl has Rock and Roll tattooed on her soul!