Grace Toland Bio
Grace Toland was born and reared in Inishowen, Co. Donegal and is a passionate supporter
of the rich unaccompanied singing tradition of her native peninsula. Her songs and style come
from time shared with older singers, family and friends. Grace has performed at festivals in
Ireland and abroad, and recorded with Barry Gleeson, and the Góilín Singers Club. As
Secretary of the Inishowen Traditional Singers’ Circle, she co-organises sessions, the annual
Inishowen International Folk Song & Ballad Seminar, and is the driving force behind the online
Inishowen Song Project. Grace is Director of the Irish Traditional Music Archive. Based in
Dublin it is the largest multimedia collection in existence dedicated to Irish traditional song,
music and dance.
Class Description
Grace’s workshop will combine singing; listening; learning, and talking about songs and
singers. As well as drawing on the English language singing tradition of Inishowen, participants
will also be introduced to other styles from the Ulster tradition. Part of the class will focus on
learning specific songs, with time also given to discussions on ‘how’ to learn a song, singing
session etiquette, internet song resources – and our own daily singing session
From the Artistic Desk