Caitríona O'Leary formed Dúlra in 1998 to perform Irish song in a new way. Featuring musicians expert in Traditional Irish and Contemporary Music, Caitríona and Dúlra strip away the varnish of 19th and 20th century styles to bring the innate, modal beauty of the music into clear focus. This fresh approach is applied to songs and dance tunes from the living, orally-transmitted traditional repertoire as well as from 17th and 18th century written sources.

Caitríona O'Leary and Dúlra live performances are theatrically lit and staged, presenting audiences with a hauntingly beautiful and original musical experience.

Dúlra is the Irish for "elements" and the name expresses the group's commitment to peeling away cluttering layers and finding the core of the music. Also evoked is green, budding nature, bursting with potential and life.

Caitríona O'Leary and Dúlra's debut CD, Dúil, Irish Songs of Love and Nature was released in Spring 2000 on EMI/Virgin Classics. In November 2001 their second CD, I am Stretched on Your Grave, was released by BMG/DHM. The group is also featured on the EMI Classics compilation disc, Nocturne Voices.
Caitríona and the band’s original members (Christopher Layer, Robert Mealy, Jay Elfenbein and Mel Mercier) have performed to packed houses in Paris, Rennes, Regensburg and Geneva. In 2008 Caitríona reformed Dúlra with a line up of some of Ireland’s finest musicians. In the summer of 2008 they played an SRO tour of Croatia. Click Here for Photos

Plans for 2009 include a tour of Eastern Europe and a new CD.

Caitríona O’Leary and Dúlra
Caitríona O’Leary, voice
Adrian Hart, fiddle
Éamonn Galldubh, flute and uilleann pipes
Kate Ellis, cello
Mel Mercier, bodhrán and bones

Click Here for Band Member Biographies

Click Here to Download Band Member Biographies (Word)