“Shine on, Greenshine” – Christy Moore

“The Sound of a Family immersed in music, tight in harmony, in love with song. Shine on Greenshine ,”Christy Moore

Husband and wife duo Noel Shine and Mary Greene, have been performing together for many years now to great acclaim but when their daughter Ellie joined them in 2013 and Greenshine was born, it took their music and popularity to an even higher level.

The band is known for striking family harmonies and excellent musicianship. Noel is a multi-instrumentalist, turning his hand to guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, bouzouki and traditional whistle and this musical dexterity had seen him much in demand as a session and band player by artists as diverse as The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and funk and soul legends The Republic of Loose amongst many others. 

Mary brings rhythm guitar to the mix and her voice is a wonderfully versatile instrument. She has added her talents to the albums of Christy Moore, John Spillane, Mick Hanly and Frances Black as well as cult psychedelic outfit Dr. Strangely Strange. 

As a duo, Noel and Mary have released 3 critically acclaimed albums to date ~ The Land You Love the Best (placed No. 3 in The Irish Times Folk albums of the year of its release), Unspoken Lines (described as ‘The heart and soul of folk music, coming from a deeper well…,’ by John Spillane) while Mary’s solo, Sea of Hearts, earned an impressive 8 out of 10 in Hot Press.

Ellie, who accompanies herself on the ukulele, has featured on 4 recordings to date. The trio released their first album, ‘Greenshine’ which counted Christy Moore and Sharon Shannon amongst its fans. 

The Summer of 2016 saw the release of the single and second album ‘The Girl in the Lavender Dress’ to huge airplay and acclaim and copper-fastened Ellie’s place as one of the most exciting young singers to spring up in Ireland for many years. Her singing style is completely natural and unaffected by vocal trends which makes it timeless.

‘The Girl In The Lavender Dress’ went on to be the most played track on RTE Radio 1 for a month of Summer and 3rd most played Irish track for the year. It reached No. 1 in the iTunes Ireland Singer Songwriter Charts. 

Gathered amongst it’s legion of fans is none other than Canadian songwriter Ron Sexsmith who said of the song: “Wow. Stunning song. Beautiful melody and words.”

Fiachna Ó Braoináin of Hot House Flowers termed it one of his ‘favourite songs of the year’ while Aonghus McAnally said it was ‘one of the most creative things to come out of Ireland for quite a while’.

Greenshine will present an evening of their music in Kilworth (Community Centre) on Thursday, June 15 – a date for your diary. Enquiries to 087-6492514.