Ballyshannon's Farrah Bogle is a whirlwind of musical talent

Farrah Bogle is a hugely talented musician and vocalist from Ballyshannon who most recently found herself touring with Ireland’s newest folk sensation, Onóir which will continue over the summer months and into the winter.

She was also in the thick of it, entertaining the welcoming crowds, when Jim McGuinness and the Donegal team arrived back to the county after the recent Ulster Final success against Armagh.

And if that wasn’t enough she is an English and Music teacher at the Abbey Vocational School (AVS) in Donegal Town.

And like the fiddle playing, in which she excels, she has many strings to her bow.

As a multi-instrumentalist, whistles, accordion, guitar, saxophone, flute and piano are also among her repertoire of instruments and not to forget her soothing and evocative octave abilities.

ABOVE: Farrah doing Donegal proud on TG4's Glór Tire back in 2013

Farrah first reached national recognition when she was a finalist on TG4’s Glór Tíre back in 2013 following the release of her debut album ‘Handle with Care’.

She continues a lineage that dates back to her late Dad, Phonsie, who was an extremely popular musician in south Donegal and especially Bundoran, where he was a regular in the Holyrood Hotel playing with the late Cormac McCready, father of former Donegal footballer, Niall McCready and later Frankie McKiernan and Alan Chapman.

Indeed her Dad, who passed away in 2013, a Roscor man from Fermanagh was a talented minor and under 21 county footballer in his day.

ABOVE: Farrah pictured with Jim McGuinness in Donegal Town after Donegal's victory in the 2024 Ulster football Final

The first sprinkling of her musical prowess was formed when under the tutelage of accomplished Ballyshannon fiddle player Seamus Sweeney at the age of six, who hinted that her first ‘bog standard fiddle’ should be upgraded as soon as possible to her Mum Carol, as she had already developed a flair for the instrument and “had serious and natural talent for it”.

“Seamus would have given us great opportunities throughout the years, both as soloists and groups and with ceili bands. He is an amazing person,” she recalled.

She “would have done all the fleadhs” throughout the age brackets up to senior level as she made her way through Creevy National School and later Colasite Cholmcille.

She was also involved with the Donegal Music Education Partnership as well and played violin and flute with the Youth Orchestra.

She credits three people along with Seamus with guiding her early journey through music, including the late Sr Concepta, “she gave me so many opportunities”; Michael Gallagher from the Ballyshannon Brass and Reed Band from whom she learned the saxophone and the mercurial talent that is Angela Currid.

ABOVE: Farrah Bogle in full concentration, when she was playing with Meithal

After leaving school, she studied music performance at the North West Regional College (NWRC) in Derry, taking that on to the Open University where she again studied Music and English Literature, before rounding off her education with the Hibernia College and becoming Post Primary teacher in Music and English.

She worked at the school where she had been educated before being offered a role at the AVS, where she has taught since 2020 and directed many of the school musicals.

“When I first went to the school we were in the throes of Covid and there were a lot of restrictions in place, so with the assistance of a friend, the late Marc Geagan from Bundoran, I got the virtual choir up and going in the school. We recorded a couple of songs including Leonard Cohen’s Alleluia and there were also a couple of other collaborations with other schools including the NWRC.”

Much of these collaborations were thanks to Marc, whom she had a close musical relationship with, through another band in which she played, Meitheal, until Marc’s much lamented passing last September.

“The amount of days I would lift the phone to that man. It’s unbelievable and it seems so surreal that he is not among us. He is a huge loss and there is still music for another album that he was working with myself amongst others,” she recalled.

On the homefront Farrah is also involved with the Ballyshannon Musical Society, the town’s Drama Society and the yearly ‘panto’, the latter of which she has been musical director for the past ten years.

Since then, Farrah has worked as an individual artist, session musician, songwriter, musical director and educator throughout the North West of Ireland.

There is also the not insignificant addition of motherhood last year with baby Shay and of course, hubby David Mullaney.

Farrah is now working on her second studio album with Terry McGinty at Valley Music Studios in Ballybofey.

ABOVE: The cover of Farrah Bogle new single which will be followed by a new album

‘The Very Ground You Walk Upon’, penned by Eurovision legend Charlie McGettigan who is also a native of Ballyshannon is the first single release from Farrah’s upcoming album. Charlie also features playing acoustic guitar on the track.

And there we need to take a pause for breath and the joy that will meet both Farrah and the next part of her wonderful musical adventure.

Watch this space!