In the misty highlands of Ireland’s County Fermanagh, an ancient female tradition is being reborn in startling new form. With her arresting debut album Mo Léan, Rose Connolly, performing as Róis, has resurrected the pre-Christian ritual of keening—the haunting improvised laments once sung by women over the dead.
Keening: A Centuries-Old Outlet for Female Grief
The Irish keening tradition, or caoineadh in Gaelic, served a vital purpose in the country’s ancient past. At a time when outward expressions of female grief were discouraged, keening created a sanctioned emotional outlet. According to Irish folklore expert Dr. Niamh Murphy:
Keening allowed women to give full voice to the intensity of their sorrow. Through rhythmically free, almost improvised wailing, they could purge their anguish and make peace with death.
Dr. Niamh Murphy, Irish Folklore Archive
The Catholic Church eventually suppressed the “pagan” practice, and keening had all but died out by the early 20th century. But in the hands of Róis, it rises again—in utterly contemporary form.
Róis Melds Ancient Wails and Modern Electronics
On Mo Léan, Róis fuses the raw, visceral emotion of traditional keens with the throb and howl of synthesizers, distortion, and drones. The results are both timeless and immediate.
“I was compelled by this tradition of women coming together to release unspeakable sorrow,” Connolly explained in a recent interview. “But I wanted to make it relevant to now, to bring that catharsis into the 21st century.”
Across five lengthy, immersive tracks, Connolly’s vocals build from tentative murmurs to wrenching, high-pitched climaxes, buoyed by pulsing electronic backdrops. On tracks like “Caoine,” the effect is almost overwhelming.
I heard this keening song on the local radio one day, and felt compelled to record it that very night. Getting those raw, guttural sounds out of me was like an exorcism.
Rose Connolly aka Róis
But Mo Léan moves through many moods. “Cití” opens with ethereal sighs before the bright jangle of a Japanese harp suggests the consolation of community. And “Feel Love” could almost be a dark electronic banger, bleeding club-ready beats.
Reclaiming an Ancient Power
For Connolly, resurrecting the keening tradition is a way to reclaim a power that was nearly lost. “In the end, it’s about connecting to the women in my bloodline, and giving voice to emotions that are as potent now as centuries ago.”
As Mo Léan unfolds, there’s a palpable sense of ancient chains breaking. With each electronic-laced wail, Róis seems to smash the lock on some forbidden chamber of the female psyche. What emerges is both devastating and transcendent.
Keening was a ritual of transformation. Through giving sound to sorrow, women discovered a kind of alchemy, turning crushing grief to gold. Róis is guiding us through that crucible once more.
Sean Mulrooney, Irish music critic
In excavating the Irish keening tradition, Róis has mined a vein of startling emotional power—and forged it into a stunning statement of 21st century female catharsis. Mo Léan marks the arrival of a fierce new voice from an ancient lineage, keening her way to a new dawn.
