These are special days for Muriel O’Connor. The Limerick lady was honoured with one of our Female Country Singers of the Year awards at the Irish Farmers Journal Country Sound Awards night, at the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone, last Monday.

She has just released her latest single, These Are The Precious Years, a beautiful love song composed by Matt Manning, who also penned her hit Waltzing An Angel Tonight.

“It has been an amazing few weeks for me,” says Muriel. “To be chosen for and accolade at such a prestigious show as the Farmers Journal Country Awards night is truly special for me and many more artists. It elevates one in every sense of the word. I know the impact the Journal has on so many people, because any time I get a mention in the Journal I get such a huge response.

“I loved Matt’s song from the first time I heard it. It encourages us all to treasure all of our waking minutes and recognise them as special and precious. The beautiful lyric is a menu for mindfulness and happiness while the melody is timeless and immediate.”

The song is produced by her musical partner Fran Curry, along with some very well-known and accomplished musicians, such as Dave Keary of The Van Morrison Band and Percy Robbins, who has worked with Mary Black, Paul Brady and Nanci Griffith.

The Muriel O’Connor Show will be familiar to many patrons of the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney over the past two decades. Her style easily adapts to dancing, cabaret, concert or wedding and hit songs like Hillbilly Rock, Whatever You Say, Say Nothing and Waltzing an Angel are given her a whole new platform in recent times.

These days, Muriel O’Connor and Fran Curry bring their show to venues around the Munster region and further afield. Fran is no stranger to the scene and has produced albums for many Irish country singers as well as lending his musical talents to recordings by Mick Hanly, Philip Donnelly, Chris Rea, Donal Lunny and many more.

  • • For more information, visit www.murieloconnor.com. For bookings, call 086-241-9730.