A Woman's Heart – A Decade On

Ten years ago the first Woman’s Heart compilation landed upon us, launching and consolidating careers and alerting us to the welter of female talent about the place, not least the songwriting class of Eleanor McEvoy who provided the ground-breaking title track.

Ten years on we come upon a timely update showcasing some of the artists featured on the first album as well as a pleasure cruise through some not catered for back then.

The opener, Sinéad O’Connor’s ‘This Is To Mother You’, sets a sublime standard that is maintained almost non-stop through to the hidden version of the title track by Emmylou Harris and Mary Black.

Among the heady cornucopia of established Irish acts you’ll find Maighread and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill (with Donal Lunny), Mary and Frances Black, Sharon Shannon (never mind the Wild Bullocks), Mary Coughlan and Maura O’Connell.

The Corrs, aided by The Chieftains, breathe new life into ‘I Know My Love’, and Mary Black duets with Marcia Howard for a thought-provoking setting of William Blake’s ‘Poison Tree’. Dolores Keane teams up with Tommy Sands and Vedran Smailovic for ‘Where Have All The Flowers Gone’, Pete Seeger’s classic song sitting comfortably alongside Dylan’s ‘To Ramona’ from Sinéad Lohan. Meanwhile, the unlikely pairing of Altan and Dolly Parton hit the spot with ‘In The Sweet By And By’.

Of the comparatively newer generation, Juliet Turner delivers a magnificent ‘Sorry To Say’ and Cathie Ryan proves she’s a real find with the lilting ‘Carrick-a-rede’. The inclusion of the dramatic ‘Fields Of Gold’ from Eva Cassidy and Alison Krauss’ evocative ‘Down To The River To Pray’ suggests that Dara may have evoked the grandmother rule to fit then in, but then such fine music pays little attention to birth certs.

And then there’s ‘Please Heart, You’re Killing Me’, another gem from the pen of Eleanor McEvoy. And that’s where we came in, all of ten years ago.