Mary Coughlan

Irish singer, songwriter and actress, born 5 May 1956. Her teenage years were dominated by drink, drugs and depression, quitting Convent school along the way - she even made a suicide attempt at 16. In 1984 she met Dutch musician Erik Visser, made a demo and came second in a Galway talent contest. By 1985 she was appearing on Ireland's top chat show - Gay Byrne's "Late Late Show". Soon she was selling out concerts throughout Ireland, and her excellent debut album at the age of 29 sold 100,000 copies.