Mary Coughlan returns home for concert in MonroeÕs

Date Published: {J}

The peerless Mary Coughlan plays a hometown show in Monroe’s Live on Friday, July 22. It has been a busy few years for Mary, with the singer celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut album Tired And Emotional and publishing her autobiography Bloody Mary.

 That book documents the ups and downs of the Coughlan’s life, from her sexual abuse as a child, to her success as a singer and her struggle with addiction.

Blood Mary is unmistakably in Mary’s voice, which is hardly surprising when you hear how it was written. Mary and her editor, Ciara Considine, went to an artist’s retreat in Monaghan and hit the record button.

“We went up to Annagmakerrig House for a week,” Mary recalls. “It was very strange – I spoke into a microphone every day for three hours. Then, I sent it away to this service in America that types up transcripts.”

“They typed up every effing and blinding and all that stuff. If somebody knocked on the door, if somebody brought me a cup of coffee and I said ‘thank you’ – that was all in it!”

Mary Coughlan is an incredible live performer, someone for whom singing is vital.

“I couldn’t live without it,” she says. “When I shop, I sing. In Superquinn, they shout at me from the other aisles, ‘there’s Mary!’ This man went to the trouble of writing a card and dropping it into me. He said ‘I’ve listened many times, in silence, as you wander around doing your shopping and singing at the top of your voice. I just wanted you to know what an amazing thing it is.’”

Doors for Mary Coughlan at Monroe’s Live at 9pm, tickets €20.