In our series, Growing Up Irish we chat with Irish people of note on their upbringing in Ireland and how it shaped them into the person they are today.
Legendary Irish trad musician Sharon Shannon is regularly celebrated for making the button accordion and Irish music ‘cool’ again. Redefining the boundaries of folk music and making it her own, Sharon’s history and love is firmly rooted in Ireland. Here, she chats us through her childhood in County Clare and why she loves her Irish accent.
Where did you grow up and how would you describe that place to someone who has never been before?
I have three siblings. My brother Gary is the oldest, and I have an older sister, Magilla, and a younger sister, Mary.
We grew up on a farm in County Clare, in a little townland called Belacana. It is 1.5 miles away from the nearest village of Ruan and 3 miles from Corofin, and we had a great childhood on the farm.
We used to spend a lot of time outdoors as kids, playing in the fields and climbing trees, and hanging out with the dogs, the cats, the horses, and ponies. We used to train the ponies to jump. We also trained the dogs to jump and used to teach them basic tricks.
What’s your earliest memory of growing up in Ireland?
I have great memories of the summers when we used to make hay in the lovely fine weather. It was hard work, but it was great fun. Also, we used to get a lift back to the farm on the top of the trailer load of hay, and we really enjoyed that. That was very exciting for us. We also had great fun with our first cousins, who used to come over and visit us from Willbrook, County Clare. We had some more first cousins that used to visit us from Dublin as well and we always looked forward to their visits.
I also used to look forward to the annual fun fair in Correfin every year as a young child. On sunny days we would always go for road trips around North Clare and most of the time ended up at Lahinch Beach for a swim. It was always a fantastic day out with special treats of chips and ice cream cones, and we loved making sand castles and stuff like that in the sand. Great memories.
What does being Irish mean to you?
I love being Irish, and I’m very proud of all the lovely Irish people. In general, the Irish are very down-to-earth and good fun, and very witty. I’m also very proud of all our great Irish superstar artists, musicians, actors, and sports stars. They have put our little country on the world stage.
Are there any particularly Irish traditions in your family?
Well, my whole family is steeped in traditional music, and we learned a great love of music and ceili dancing from my parents at a very young age.
How do you carry Ireland with you when you’re living and working abroad or on a global stage?
My Irish accent is one of the main things that identifies me (and all the rest of us Irish when we’re abroad) and I think people love to hear the Irish accent.
And of course, people love Irish music all over the world, and we’re welcomed all over the globe because of our music, art, and culture.
What’s the most Irish thing about you?
I’m not sure how to answer this question, but maybe the most Irish thing about us in general is our beautiful native tongue, the Irish language.
