Imelda May praises Athlone singer's 'beautiful' songs

Gifted Athlone singer Anne Marie Hynes received a major boost this week when one of Ireland's best-known artists praised and shared her songs on social media.

Imelda May shared two of Anne Marie's songs, 'Dia Dhuit Ar Maidin Danu' and 'Grandmother Tree' on Instagram, writing a one-word description of the latter: 'Beautiful'.

The star's page is followed by 100,000 people, so Anne Marie said the fact that her work had been shared to such a large audience on Imelda's 'Instagram Stories' was a thrill.

"They say you should celebrate the small things, but this is actually really big for me!" she laughed this morning.

The two songs which were shared were both from Anne Marie's @soundyoursoul.ie Instagram page, where she posts about her original music and holistic voice workshops.

Explaining how the Imelda May connection came about, she said: "Imelda had put up a post on her Instagram stories, and I sent her a message in response to that.

"She didn't get back to me, but she obviously went on to my page and went scrolling down because she started 'liking' my posts. I was getting these notifications saying 'Imelda May liked your song', and I thought, Oh my God!"

Then on Monday, the Monsksland-based mother of two was at home with her daughters when two of her songs were shared by @imeldaofficial.

"I was out having tea with the girls in the garden, and when I came back in to get something I saw the phone and saw that she had shared a song. Then when I went back in again she had shared another song.

"It was really exciting - I was literally dancing in the garden! It was just a really nice moment," she said.

The 'Instagram Stories' posts only display for 24 hours, so they are now gone, but Anne Marie captured screengrab photos as a reminder of the recognition from the Dublin performer, whose latest album '11 Past The Hour' was released in April.

During the pandemic, Anne Marie has been hosting regular live-streamed shows for toddlers and families on her 'Hummingbirds - Let's Make Music' Facebook page and she has also been working on her own original songs recently.

"In May I had lots of things on every weekend, just to reclaim some sense of normality, and I will in June as well, so things are good.

"There's a bit of a movement, and lots of songs are coming. I'm spending lots of time outside in nature so that really brings up the songs for me," she said.

You can find details of Anne Marie's original music and workshops at the website: soundyoursoul.ie and on social media.