As the Christmas season fast approaches and we edge ever nearer to the depths of midwinter, I would like to send you all my best wishes and thanks for your support over the past year.

Winter is a really special time for me – a time to walk by the sea in wild winds and enjoy warm evenings by the fire; a time to reflect on the year just ending and a time to plant seeds for the year to come.

2009 has been a rich and full year involving collaborations with many fellow artists and I am delighted to say that many seeds have been planted for possible harvesting in 2010. I look forward to passing on further news in this regard in the springtime.

As ever, music weaves a web through my life that lifts my spirit and nurtures my soul, and throughout this past year I have been continually in awe at its ability to touch, to move and to inspire, whether singing to one person or a thousand.

I am happy to say that my new website is now up and running and for those of you who have so patiently waited for lyrics and translations you will now find them on the music page of this site.

Last but not least, I am thrilled to say that I am featured on a new Irish album called “Nollaig – Essential Irish Christmas” – singing the beautiful song ‘Winter, Fire and Snow’. The album is a rich and joy-filled compilation of some of the greatest songs and singers from Ireland, and it’s an honour to be singing alongside such wonderful artists as Moya Brennan, Eimear Quinn and Anúna, among others. You can find out more at IrishMusicShop.ie.

I leave you with a blessing from the wonderful Irish poet and philosopher John O’Donohue:

‘May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And may a slow wind work these words of love around you,
An invisible cloak to mind your life’.

Wishing you a peaceful midwinter time and many blessings in the year ahead,

Fionnuala