Cara Dillon – success with Sweet Liberty

In 2003, Cara Dillon released her second solo album, Sweet Liberty. Sweet Liberty was a bigger commercial success than her first album. It contains a version of There were Roses, which was featured on comedian Billy Connelly’s BBC series, World tour of England, Ireland and Wales.

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There were more original songs than there were on her first album, and comparisons with Kate Bush continued thanks to tracks like Falling Like a Star.

By now, as well as being an established songwriter, she was also widely recognised as one of the leading interpreters of traditional Irish songs.

Once when asked why She Moves Through the Fair was such a popular song throughout the generations she replied: “It calms the audience. Everywhere we go and perform the song people get hooked by the haunting melody… and also the story. It’s got a ghost in it, that always works wonders doesn’t it?”

Best Irish Female ahead of Enya and Sinead

Cara Dillon Irish singer
Cara Dillon

Having already released two successful albums and developed a big European fan base, Dillon received recognition from the industry in 2004 when she beat Sinead O’Connor and Enya to be named Best Irish Female Artist at the Meteor Irish Music Awards.

She then spent much of the year touring Japan in order to gain more international recognition.

Performing for 300 million people

In 2006 she released her long awaited third album, After the Morning. By this time she had cemented her status as a star performer and several acclaimed singers and musicians made guest appearances on her album.

Some of the songs on the album made the playlists of national radio stations in Ireland and the UK although the singles were not officially released.

In 2006, Dillon performed at the opening ceremony of the Ryder Cup in Ireland to a worldwide audience of 300 million people. She also performed at the reopening of the Belfast Grand Opera House.

Recording with Peter Gabriel

In 2008, Dillon embarked on a major tour of Ireland, the UK and the USA. She released a single called If I Prove False, a duet with guitarist, John Smith on her own record label, Charcoal Records. Her fourth album, Hill of Thieves, followed in January 2009, also on Charcoal Records.

In 2009 she recorded the official Children in Need single, which featured several artists including Peter Gabriel.

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