Áine Minogue (born 27 May 1977, Borrisokane, County Tipperary) is an Irish harpist, singer, arranger and composer, now living in the Boston area. She has recorded thirteen solo albums in styles generally categorized as Celtic, world, folk, spiritual, and new age.

Early life

Áine Minogue was born in Ireland to a family of ten, which often played and sang at traditional Irish events such as fleadhs and Hunting the Wren. She was 12 when she started playing the Irish harp at a boarding school in Galway. Minogue became a harpist at Bunratty Castle in County Clare. She obtained a Master’s Degree in Traditional Irish Harp Performance from the University of Limerick.  She moved to Boston in 1990.

Music career

Minogue’s debut album, Were You at the Rock, consisted of traditional dance and concert pieces.

Mysts of Time (1996) was a mix of traditional tunes and original songs, with mostly Gaelic lyrics. It was seen as belonging to the Irish wave of New Age/Celtic fusion and a*sociated with the sound of Enya. Her voice was described as “fragile, lilting… like a gently windblown satin sheet.”[8] To Warm the Winter’s Night (1996) was a popular collection of Celtic and English midwinter and Christmas music.

Circle of the Sun (1998) was a musical journey through the seasons with a focus on the four Celtic calendar festivals of Lughnasadh, Samhain, Imbolc, and Beltane.[10] She mixed her own Celtic harp with guitars, cellos, fiddles, flutes, and bodhráns, but also folk instruments from other traditions such as didgeridoo and djembe. Celtic Lamentations (2005) explored how ancient people used music to mourn.  It won Zone Music Reporter’s Best Celtic Album award.

A Winter’s Journey, a CatholicTV Christmas special produced by Minogue where she plays Celtic music with her friends in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston, was nominated for a New England Emmy Award.