Emma Kate Tobia hails from Westport, Co Mayo, and now lives in Kinsale Co. Cork. Her grá (love) for Irish Song goes back to her days in Colaiste Muire, Tuar Mhic Eadaigh and the Feiseanna competitions. “Aisling na nGael”(an Irish Dream) is an expression of that love. Emma Kate’s classical training has resulted in a fusion of a pure lyrical voice with the timeless melodies of our heritage. Normally sung in the sean-nós style with little or no accompaniment, the songs in Aisling na nGael are presented in rich orchestral and choral arrangements. Songs such as Eanach Cuain, An Mhaighdean Mhara, An Droimeann Donn Dílis, Fill, Fill, a Rún Ó and Carraigdhoun make up this fresh collection that will appeal to both classical and traditional music lovers alike. The collection includes three arrangements which feature The City of Cork Male Voice Choir and The Chorus of Opera Cork. These are: Deus Meus, Ag Críost an Síol and Óró ’s é do Bheatha ’Bhaile.

In the eighteenth century, poets of Ireland used images of dream visions to portray the social happenings of the day. In these Aislingi a womanly creature, a sovereignty figure, is lost or hurt by others who should have been there to help her. Sometimes Ireland is depicted as Gráinne Mhaol (the fierce warrior Queen of the West) as in Óró sé do Bheatha ’Bhaile, or Róisín Dubh, whose help is coming on the high seas. Animals feature in Aislingí also, such as Droimeann Donn Dílis (darling little brown cow) or the fairy presence of mermaids in An Mhaighdean Mhara.
The Aisling as a powerfully emotive channel for the expression of social discontent and political turmoil was widespread right up to the time of the Easter Rising in 1916 and beyond.