Len Graham (singer)

Did You Know?

• Graham won the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann traditional singing competition in 1971.
• He recorded an album of children's songs called 'When I was Young' with Pádraigín Ní Uallacháin.
• He has two sons, Eoghan and Macdara.

Career

Len Graham's recording career began in 1975 with Chaste Muses, Bards and Sages, a collaborative album with his mentor Joe Holmes on Free Reed Records. The following year saw his first solo release, Wind and Water, on Topic Records. In 1978, he and Holmes reunited for After Dawning: Traditional Songs, Ballads and Lilts from the North of Ireland, also on Topic, later reissued by the Ossian USA label. Graham went on to work with poets, seanchaithe, and storytellers.

After gathering songs from older Ulster singers like Eddie Butcher and Joe Holmes, he began a two-decade partnership with John Campbell, blending story and song. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the pair brought their work to cross-community groups across Ireland, especially in the north during the conflict. They also gave talks on the shared cultural traditions of both nationalist and unionist communities. Since Campbell's death in 2006, Graham has regularly toured with storyteller Jack Lynch.

He also collaborates with American-born singer Brían Ó hAirt, touring North America each year. Their performances revive the duet singing style common in Ulster during Graham's youth, along with repertoire shared between Ulster and the Appalachian and Ozark regions, plus lilting, sean-nós dancing, spoons, tin whistle, and concertina. Songs Graham collected and recorded have become staples in folk repertoire worldwide, covered by Altan, De Dannan, The Chieftains, Cherish the Ladies, Andy Irvine, and Karen Casey, among others.

His discography now includes over twenty albums. In November 2008, he gave a lecture and performance at the Library of Congress titled It's of My Rambles: A Journey in the Song Tradition of Ulster. His book, Here I Am Amongst You, focusing on the songs, dance music, and traditions of Joe Holmes, was published by Four Courts Press in 2010.