She is an ethnomusicologist and a qualified teacher and former lecturer in Music, Musicology, English, French, History and Geography. She has learned the drums /percussions, the bass, the flute, and the guitar at age 5. She picked up the piano from her pianist mother. At 12, she went to a music academy to learn classical guitar and completed the grades. At home she was experimenting with jazz, jazz rock, rock and blues and flamenco on acoustic and electric guitar. She also did learn Breton and Irish traditional music and started singing in English, Breton and Irish.

Writing and Singing

Rachel has started writing and singing her own songs at 17 and has been performing as singer/electric guitarist ever since. At 25 she picked up her grandfather and great uncle’s classical violins and took classical violin lessons in Galway, she also taught herself Breton, Irish and American trad tunes on the fiddle, the banjos, both four and five string ones, flute, tinwhistle, mandolin, mandola and bouzouki. At 30, in Dublin she studied Irish and classical harp with Irish Composer Harpist Anne Marie O Farrell. In Ireland, the US, the UK, Spain, China and many other places, Rachel has performed and recorded widely with big names of the music industry.

Education

She holds three BAs, one in Irish Studies from Galway University, one in British Literature from Dublin City University, One in French as a Foreign Language from Grenoble University.

Rachel also has a master 1 in Irish Studies from Rennes University in France, a H Dip in Ed in English registered with The Irish Teaching Council, a Master 2 in Irish Studies from Lille University, and a PHD in Irish Studies about Citizenship Identity and Culture in Contemporary Ireland.

After years lecturing in NUIG and DIT, Dr Rachel Lenihan worked as course director of third level institution Modern Educational Centre in Dublin city centre.

She is fully registered with the Irish Teaching Council.