Bridie gallagher husband
- •
My mum was Bridie Gallagher. Did I know her enough to write her life story?
How well do you know your mum or dad? Enough to write their life story?
My mum was Bridie Gallagher. She was best known as The Girl from Donegal and acknowledged as Ireland's first truly international pop star. Over a 50-year career she sang at sell-out concerts everywhere from small halls across Ireland to the London Palladium, Royal Albert Hall, the Lincoln Centre in New York and Sydney Opera House. She is credited with bringing glamour to show business in 1950s Ireland, giving new life to forgotten Irish ballads, and selling millions of records.
Her rise to fame in the mid-1950s was marked by enormous crowds wherever she appeared, winning the hearts of legions of fans in Ireland and overseas. She was one of the few Irish singers at that time who travelled internationally to entertain Irish people, and in one memorable show at London’s Albert Hall in 1959, mounted police had to hold back fans blocking the surrounding streets.
But she wasn’t only a successful showbiz personality. She
- •
Subscribe/Login
CREESLOUGH native and international singing star Bride Gallagher was born 100 years ago today.
As this milestone date approaches, her achievements and acclaim was documented by Brian Maye in this week’s An Irishman’s Diary.
It may come as a surprise to many, particularly those of a younger generation, that the woman from Creeslough with the warm Donegal lilt was possibly Ireland’s first international pop stars who will always be associated with Irish ballads.
She was born on September 7, 1924 and while christened Bridget was always know as Bridie.
The second youngest of ten children of Jim Gallagher and Biddy Sweeney.
She grew up on a substantial farm in the area.
Having attended a local national school she was offered a scholarship to Loreto Convent in Letterkenny but her parents did not allow her to take it so she left school at 14 and got a job in the local post office.
Hers was a musical family and she, gifted with a fine voice and good ear singing at local concerts and events.
She soon joined a local dance band as their lead singer a
- •
From rags to records: Bridie Gallagher, the girl from Donegal who became Ireland's first international singing star
BRIDIE Gallagher was one of Ireland’s first international singing stars. The performer from Donegal trail-blazed the way for artists like Daniel O'Donnell to emerge onto the world stage.
Daniel, who has written the foreword to a new biography of Bridie (penned by her son), says: “She was the one who paved the way for all of us Donegal singers who came after her.”
Dec Cluskey of The Bachelors said Bridie 'broke the ceiling' for them and the likes of Val Doonican, unknown outside Ireland until she came along. Soon English and American agents began to wake up to the wellspring of talent that lay in Ireland."
For decades, Bridie Gallagher was a household name in Ireland, and a hugely popular figure in the Diaspora — in Britain, the US and Australia. She had record contracts from the biggest companies, toured the world’s major concert venues, and sold albums by the million.
Bridie Gallagher’s life, from a poo
Copyright ©rimpair.pages.dev 2025