Niall was immersed in traditional singing at a very young age when he began to learn from the singing of his late Grandfather, Geordie Hanna. Since then Niall has combined the traditional style of singing with his guitar playing and has performed on many stages in across Ireland, the UK, Europe and Australia. In 2011, Niall along with his brother Ciaran, fiddle player Niall Murphy and Bodhran player Eamon Rooney formed the young trad group ‘Reel It In’. All four musicians who were now in their teens had met as pupils at the ‘Armagh Pipers Club’. The band combined lively sets with Niall’s traditional ballads and began to perform across Ireland and in Europe. They were later joined by keyboard player Enda Rafferty.

With Reel It In, Niall began to develop his skills as a performer while simultaneously studying primary teaching at St Mary’s University College in Belfast. Whilst living in the city, Niall began to meet many other musicians through the Belfast session scene. During this time, he met members of the lively folk band ‘The Rapparees’ and began to perform occasionally with them. Niall would soon begin to tour with the band in Germany which was his first experience of a longer period of touring.

After graduating at the age of 22 in 2015 and working as a substitute teacher, Niall continued to perform with several acts, but began to look towards becoming a solo artist. This move was encouraged when Niall became a recipient of the ‘Young Musician’s Platform Award’ from the Arts Council in late 2016. This provided him with funding to begin working on his first solo album at Redbox Studios in Belfast with producer Donal O’Connor. Niall worked on the album throughout 2017 and performed two official launch concerts (Dungannon and Belfast) in November of the same year. He also performed some material from the album along with the Ulster Orchestra in the Guildhall, Derry, as part of the 2018 IMBOLC festival.

In the same year, the widely played album received two nominations at the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards which gained Niall recognition as a fresh talent in the Irish folk scene. While he moved away from teaching in a school setting, he continued to teach at a wide range of traditional singing and guitar workshops and summer schools, and is also a regular tutor at his local Comhaltas branches in Tyrone.

In recent times, Niall Hanna has shared stages with a range of highly established acts including John Mcsherry & Donal O’Connor, Barry Kerr, Rioghnach Connolly, Martin Meehan and many more. He has also toured in countries across Europe and in Australia where he has developed his ability to effectively convey the stories within his songs to a wide range of audiences.

“Drawing from his rich family singing legacy, this album is a gem…Niall Hanna’s star is on the rise” Lynette Fay (BBC Radio Ulster)