Singer Orla Fallon on love, loss and family

I always wear my heart on my sleeve when I’m singing and I really did; and I suppose it’s my most honest album ever,” says Orla Fallon of her latest release, Sweet By and By.

It has been six years since Irish Country Living first met the flame-haired singer, harpist and farmer’s daughter, just after leaving Celtic Woman to go solo – and much has changed.

There has been joy with the arrival of her son, Freddie, after Orla had almost given up her dream of becoming a mother, but also heartbreak with the loss of her father three years ago.

Indeed, Orla explains that for a long time after her father’s death, she could not “find any solace in music at all”. “A lot of songs I sing, they’re songs that both my parents love,” she explains. “There’s one song I still can’t sing. I open my mouth to sing it … and I can’t still.”

Yet with Sweet By and By, Orla returns with not only a new sound, influenced by her time spent recording in Nashville, but also with an album brimming with love, with songs ranging from Christy Hennessy’s Remember Me to the title track, an old American Gospel tune whose lyrics have special significance.

“Every time I sing it or hear it, you believe every syllable of the words: ‘That you will meet again on the beautiful shore,’” she says. “It’s a great source of comfort for me and my family.”

Despite the emotion that Orla poured into Sweet By and By, she says that it’s “not a sad album”. “It’s very uplifting,” she smiles. “It’s very powerful. Very hopeful.”

Rural Roots

Originally from Knockananna in Wicklow and now living in Leighlinbridge, Co Carlow, farming has been as much a part of Orla’s life as music.

Her late father, John, was a farmer who built up a successful meat business in Hackettstown with the help of her mother, Eileen, a retired school principal, while her brother Tom is a sheep and cattle farmer.

Moreover, her husband, John Comerford, is financial controller with Dawn Meats, and it seems that their four-year-old son, Freddie, also has caught the agri bug. “If it’s not a John Deere tractor, forget it,” laughs Orla.

Having originally studied law after leaving school, Orla decided to follow her heart and switched to a music and theology degree. She was working as a teacher in Tullow Community School when she plucked up the courage to go pro, and credits her parents for their support to take the leap of faith.

“It was a big deal to give up a good pensionable teaching job, but they were very encouraging and they were great because they took risks themselves to make a go of things,” she explains.

Orla was performing in the National Concert Hall when she was approached by David Agnew, who asked for her demo CD, and a few months later, got a call wondering if she’d like to be involved in a show called Celtic Woman for PBS television in America in 2005.

What was meant to be a “one-night thing”, however, took off and during Orla’s four-year tenure with the group, Celtic Woman sold more than four million CDs and DVDs, spent a record-breaking 95 weeks at No 1 in the world music album charts and sang for everybody from George Bush and Bill Clinton to the Pope: though her “pinch yourself” moment remains performing in Carnegie Hall in New York.

“Because mam used to always say, ‘How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice,’” smiles Orla, who assigns huge credit to the importance of Celtic Woman in her career.

“But it’s nice to try other things, and get a chance to be in charge of yourself creatively,” she adds of her decision to go solo, with highlights including TV specials for PBS, a 50-date coast-to-coast US tour and charting in the Billboard and World Music charts.

Family Life

But perhaps the project closest to her heart was her album, Lullaby Time, which she recorded while expecting Freddie in 2012.

Orla was 41 when she had her son – “a geriatric first-time mother” she smiles – and explains how she and John had finally come to terms with the realisation that they might never have a baby, after even their attempts to adopt ended in disappointment.

“I’d just given up. I remember we were on holidays in France and I just thought: ‘This is just not meant to be,’” she says, explaining how she had grieved the family she thought she would never have.

“I used to see John and see all his nephews and nieces kicking footballs and all that, and I knew he’d be a lovely dad, and you’d feel very sad about that.”

However, it was while researching the lullaby album that Orla discovered that she was pregnant. “It was like the planets aligned,” she smiles. “I remember when we brought him home from hospital, and the whole house even looked different. It’s amazing. We’re just so lucky to have him.”

Orla also feels blessed that her father got to meet Freddie before he passed away. Indeed, she still catches glimpses of him in her son’s character. “He has all the hand gestures,” she laughs. “It’s amazing.”

Finding Balance

Since becoming a mother, Orla has stepped back from the extended overseas tours that she used to do (“my mad shopping days in America are gone!”) and feels like she has a lot more balance in her life.

“Before, music was oh my God, the be all and end all. It’s not now,” she says.

“I don’t worry about things as much or stress as much as I used to. It’s amazing how a child changes you. Once he’s happy, that’s the most important thing.”

Instead, she has been concentrating on performing closer to home: most recently, with a charity concert for the LauraLynn Foundation at St Patrick’s Cathedral, which raised over €9,000. She is planning a series of concerts around Ireland in autumn in intimate venues like churches, while also promoting Sweet By and By, with the help of Freddie – who is proving quite the right hand man.

“Freddie is like:, ‘How many CDs did we sell today?’” laughs Orla. “He’s my little manager!” CL

Sweet By and By is available on www.orlafallon.com for €15, with free postage and packaging. The album can also be downloaded on iTunes and is on sale in selected stores.