My Impressions of MC

[glenn]

As a longtime fan, in fact since the start, I know it takes a while to form an impression of a new member.  And though Mairead is hardly
"new," my impressions of her have, let us say, evolved.  From the start, downcast though I was at Chloe's departure, I thought, "This is just the kind of singer we need."  And her voice has evolved and flowered since then.

However, being a fan is all about feelings, how someone makes you feel.  It so happened that just before her birthday of Dec. 5, I had the privilege of attending a show and Meet and Greet, that on December 1.  I very much looked forward the giving her a bouquet of flowers for her birthday.  In fact, to be honest, that was all that M & G was about, for me.  Her reaction was disheartening to say the least.  She seemed dismissive of the whole thing, acknowledging my heartfelt "Happy Birthday" with "It's not for a few days."  I did not even hear a "thank you."  I asked the person I was with, thinking I might have been excited and missed something, but she said she did not hear a thank you either.  I would have thought that part of what performers such as her are naturally expected to do is at least try to be personable with fans, at M & G's, and even if they have had a bad day, to be able to force a simple "thank you" in such a scenario, but she could not even manage that.  Wow.  That was a before-the-show M & G, and just about ruined the whole show for me.  No, I won't do that again.

I have seen CW perform since then, and as I said, Mairead's voice has evolved and flowered and I was truly impressed with her vocal performance.  Her range and power are outstanding.  Even Lisa Kelly, Meav, or Haley, back-in-the-day, with their exceptional vocal talents, could not have done better.

Overall I must say that my impression of MC is that of a truly gifted performer and a real asset to Celtic Woman, but not a very endearing person.

[CWazyTom]

That's cool you've been a fan since the start.

I'm really sorry that M+G experience wasn't what you were hoping for. The bouquet was a lovely gesture and I can understand her reaction as you described it must be disheartening. I can't even begin to imagine the strains of a tour and everything else the ladies have to deal with behind the scenes personally and professionally. I know they understand what how important the M+Gs are to people and I'm sure they make an effort to be at their best even when they're feeling their worst. But they're only human and nobody can be perfect all the time, not even our angels.

One can only speculate what was on her mind. Maybe she'd been going through some rough stuff just before the M+G. Maybe she wasn't feeling well and was struggling to power through it. Maybe she was wondering what she was going to do with all the flower bouquets she accumulated during the tour. Maybe she was allergic to that variety. Who knows?

There's an argument to be made that a thank you is a common courtesy and that it should be issued instinctively, regardless of how one is feeling. But I'd be inclined to give her the benefit of the doubt.

I've had the privilege of seeing Mairead Carlin perform only 4 times and only been lucky enough to meet her once. She was very nice to me at the M+G and what she sent me after the show is one of the most thoughtful things anyone's said to me and it was truly and deeply touching.

I'm really sorry you didn't have the same positive type of experience I did, but I truly believe that Mairead Carlin is a sweet and wonderful person. I can tell this had a pretty profound impact on you and I can understand that. But my hope for you is that this one experience doesn't define your whole perception of her character. If you get to meet her again, my advice is to try to put the previous experience behind you and give her another chance with clean slate.

[Hubert]

I first met Mairead at Houston in 2014 at a M&G.  She was nice but a few days later after the Tulsa show some of us fans were lingering near the tours buses and all of a sudden she appeared.  She greeted everyone and allowed us to take pictures.  None of the other girls made an appearance that night.  It was Mairead N's birthday so I'm sure she was having fun inside.  Ray also came out and talked to us.  I was really impressed with that event.  I'm sorry your experience was not like that.