Iarla O Lionaird grew up and learned his craft in the musical heartland of Cuil Aodha in the West Cork Gaeltacht. This region though historically rich both in instrumental and vocal music grew in fame through its association with composer Sean O'Riada. Apart from his enormous role on the trajectory of Irish music generally, O' Riada's influence in Cuil Aodha was profound. His choir, Cor Cuil Aodha achieved cult status in traditional circles and it was in this milieu that Iarla O'Lionaird grew and developed his art. From his iconic early recording of the vision song "Aisling Gheal" whilst still a boy, through to his recordings with Tony McMahaon and Noel Hill, O'Lionaird established himself both as a masterful exponent of Sean Nos Song and as a pioneer in its renewal and development.

Signed to the prestigious Realworld label in the mid 1990's he would go on to make many ground breaking recordings with the multi million selling Afro Celt Soundsystem and achieved in this period two Grammy nominations. O'Lionaird's three solo records have also received widespread plaudits at home and across the world. His most recent recorded work "Invisible Fields" was voted "Best Folk Record" by the Irish Times in 2006. Iarla has sung in his unique style for audiences across the globe from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Royal Opera House in London, from Cape Town to Moscow, Rome and Tokyo. His many television appearances include among others the "Later with Jools Holland Show" for the BBC and "The David Letterman Show" in the USA. His music has also appeared on many film soundtracks including "The Gangs of New York" and "Hotel Rwanda".

It is widely recognised that through this time he has had a major influence on the increase of awareness of our ancient vocal tradition internationally. He is currently touring a new work entitled " Gra agus Bas" with the Dublin based Crash Ensemble. This work was comissioned by Trinity College and composed especially for O'lionaird by the composer Donnacha Dennehy. It received its world premiere in New York last March.

Iarla O'Lionaird holds a Masters Degree in Ethnomusicology from the University of Limerick and lives in Inistioge in County Kilkenny with his wife Eimear and their three children.