Ronan Hardiman

Born in May 1961 in Dublin, Ireland. Education: Attended Royal Irish Academy of Music. Ronan Hardiman is one of Ireland's premier composers of traditional music, responsible for the score to Lord of the Dance as well as many Irish films and television series. One of five children in a musical family, Hardiman was born in May 1961 and grew up in Dublin, Ireland. He worked as a clerk at the Bank of Ireland for twelve years, occasionally playing in pop bands during the 1980s. After quitting his job, though, he composed material based more on Irish traditions than pop music, specifically for radio and television; months later wrote the theme music to the documentary My Riviera, which became quite well-known in Ireland. During the next few years, Hardiman composed for Coca-Cola and Guinness and gained his reputation as Ireland's best contemporary composer. He was approached by Michael Flatley, creator of Riverdance, to compose the score to the new production Lord of the Dance. Thanks in large part to the success of the production, Hardiman gained a recording contract through Philips and released his debut album, Solas, in early 1998. After an unlikely early career as a bank teller, Hardiman has succeeded in fulfilling his lifelong ambition to compose and perform his own music. Although he maintains a low profile, continuing to live and work in his native Dublin, his work has become well known to international audiences from Japan to South Africa to the United States. With performances of Lord of the Dance rebroadcast continually around the globe, Hardiman has gained recognition as one of the most successful composers and performers to emerge from Ireland.