Renowned for her distinctive voice, fearless songwriting and spellbinding stage presence, Lisa O’Neill has become one of the most vital and respected figures in contemporary folk music. Her songs weave together history, politics, compassion and myth, delivered with a rare emotional honesty that has earned her widespread critical acclaim.
“I grew up among the Drumlins where the Annalee River runs through a village called Ballyhaise in County Cavan. Over the decades I’ve toured a lot of this country but not yet every county. One of my influences, Margaret Barry, said she toured the thirty-two counties thirty-two times, up and down, over and back, villages, glens, cities and towns, markets and fairs. To get the ball rolling this September, I look forward to hitting the first of four provinces by bringing my music and my band to play all nine Counties of Ulster, my home province.” Lisa O’Neill
It’s been an extraordinary period for O’Neill, whose recent releases have cemented her reputation as a singular artistic voice. Her work has been critically acclaimed across the globe, by the like of BBC 6 Music, The Guardian, Mojo, Uncut, NPR, The Irish Times and The New York Times. Her album All Of This Is Chance which went in at number 1 in the Irish Independent charts, was widely ranked among the best releases of that year, with BBC 6 Music’s Gideon Coe naming it Album of the Year.
In late 2025 O’Neill released ‘The Wind Doesn’t Blow This Far Right’ EP. The EP comprises six tracks that Lisa considers to fit together well, they include the haunting rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘All The Tired Horses’ that was recorded to soundtrack the closing scene of the final episode of Peaky Blinders, plus ‘Homeless In The Thousands (Dublin in the Digital Age)’ featuring Peter Doherty, which was released as a stand-alone single in 2025 in response to the growing issue of homelessness in Dublin and across Ireland. Added to these are a new song and recent live favourite ‘Mother Jones’ about the activist and union organiser Mary G. Harris Jones, who in 1902 was called ‘the most dangerous woman in America’ – following her organising of miners against mine owners leading directly to the introduction of America’s first child labour laws. The EP is completed with a stunning version of the seasonally topical ‘The Bleak Midwinter’ and a moving reading of the James Stevens poem ‘Autumn 1915’.
A compelling live performer and natural raconteur, O’Neill’s concerts are known for their intimacy and intensity, moving effortlessly between stark, socially engaged songs and moments of warmth, humour and reflection. Audiences can expect material spanning her celebrated catalogue, alongside newer work that continues her tradition of giving voice to the unheard and overlooked.
Lisa O’Neill has also recently toured extensively across Ireland, the UK, North America, Australia and New Zealand with performances celebrating the legacy of The Pogues and Shane MacGowan. Later this year she will rejoin The Pogues and other special guests to embark on further European dates.
“O’Neill is a cultural hero in her own right… a modern artist tapped into the ancient.” – New York Times
