This biography is republished from The Dictionary of Irish Biography and was written by Gerry McElroy. Shared by permission in line with Creative Commons ‘Attribution’ (CC BY) licencing.
Born: 14 June 1887, Ireland
Died: 16 September 1975
Country most active: Ireland
Also known as: Brigid Gallagher
Brigid was born 14 June 1887 in Rusheen, Co. Donegal, second of the six children, three boys and three girls, of Michael Gallagher and his wife, Mary, née Meehan, both of Tower, Pettigo, and both from a farming background. She appears to have been educated locally and then to have travelled back and forth to Glasgow, in search of work, and married in Glasgow before settling in Mulleek in 1927. Coming from a family of renowned singers, she acquired a great number of traditional ballads, learnt from both sides of her family. Possessing a beautifully articulated voice with a considerable range, she was extensively recorded with other members of her family in 1952 by Sean O’Boyle and Peter Kennedy for the BBC. While her best-known rendition is ‘As I roved out’, she was important for passing on a wide range of material to the younger generation, a great deal of which could have been forgotten at a time when folk music had apparently fallen out of fashion. At various stages during her life she lived in Rusheen, Pettigo, Co. Donegal, Mulleek, Co. Fermanagh, and Glasgow, Scotland. She married Patrick Tunney, labourer, in Glasgow on 29 December 1916, and died at home on 16 September 1975.