Antoinette McKenna

McKenna was born and raised in Dublin.^[1][2] Her father was from Kilkenny and her mother was from Wicklow; both were musical.^[3] She attended Sion Hill Dominican Convent School in Blackrock, and participated in harp and singing competitions in her teens.^[4]

McKenna performed as a member of Sean Nua, a quartet first named Magenta Music,^[5][6] and accompanied her husband Joe,^[7] who learned to play pipes from Leo Rowsome and other members of the famed Pipers Club.^[3][8] She also played in ensembles with her sister, musician Mary Bergin.^[9][10]

The McKennas performed at festivals in the United Kingdom^[11][12][13] and with Sean Nua in Europe,^[5] and found a warm reception in the United States. They performed in Vermont and Maryland in 1979,^[2][7] in Virginia in 1981 and 1993,^[14] in North Carolina in 1983 and 1984,^[15][1] in California^[16] and at the Border Folk Festival in Texas, in 1983,^[17] in Maine in 1983 and 1985,^[18] Michigan in 1993,^[6] and at the Lowell Folk Festival in Massachusetts in 1997.^[19] McKenna "sings laments and ballads in both Irish and English, accompanying herself on the harp to create a haunting, echoing effect," according to a 1985 report.^[18] They made several recordings for Shanachie Records, an American label.^[9]

Antoinette Bergin married Joe McKenna in the mid-1970s; they lived in Dublin.^[10][16] She died 30 September 2012, in Roundwood, County Wicklow, at the age of 60.^[20][21]