Róisín comes from Conamara, in the West of Ireland and grew up in a musical family. She has been singing sean-nós from an early age, inspired by her mother, Treasa Ní Cheannabháin Elsafty. Treasa taught her 'amhrán ar an sean-nós' or "old-style singing". This is the age-old art of Irish traditional singing, of an acapella-style and sung singularly. Sean-nós songs can be as much as 600 years old, and have been handed down through the generations, and from district to district. There are a great many themes, as with many songs, but Róisín sings mostly love songs!

She features with her mother on a French album called "L'art du Sean-nós", on the Buda Musique label, brought out in 1996. In addition, she appears on albums such as "An Ceol Reoite", (RTE label, 2000), "L'Irlande Aujourd'hui" (Auvidis, 1996), and "Libertango", (Sharon Shannon, Daisy Label, 2003).

Róisín has travelled widely with her art, performing, demonstrating and teaching sean-nós. In 1998 she went to Brittany for 'La Festival Interceltique', a week long extravaganza of music and song in Lorient; in l999, to Scotland, for "Cuairt na mBard"; and in 2000 to Hanover, Germany, where Róisín performed with Dónal Lunny and the RTE Concert Orchestra in an open-air concert for an audience that included the President of Ireland!

From this performance has sprung a great friendship and several collaborations, which include the highly successful shows with Dónal Lunny and Friends in Cité de la Musique, Paris, October 2003; BOZAR Palais de Beaux Arts, Brussels, April 2004; The China/Ireland Cultural Exchange Programme, May 2004 which included concerts at The Poly Theatre, Beijing and The Majestic Theatre Shanghai with fellow Irish female vocalists Mary Black and Cara Dillon. And also an Irish-Icelandic collaboration in May 2004 between the Dónal Lunny band and the Felix Award winner Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson with the Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir culminating in performances at the Reykjavík Arts Festival May 2004, and at The Nordic House in Tórshavn, in the Faroes, August 2004.

Róisín has performed as part of a trio with Dónal Lunny and master button accordion player, Máirtín Ó Connor, with performances at the Konzerthaus Großer Saal, Vienna November 2004; at the ESB Ceol Festival at the National Concert Hall, Dublin March 2005 and as part of the Music Migrations Irish Voices series in Cork city during its reign as European City of Culture, November 2005.

Collaboration is always a delight for Róisín. She sang Brendan Graham's composition Óchón An Gorta Mór in 2000 which features on Ceol Reoite: Music for the Millennium an album commissioned by the Irish Government to celebrate Ireland's vast architectural heritage. The song was inspired by The Curvilinear Glass House of the Irish National Botanic Gardens.

Always willing to experiment, Róisín features on the 2006 album of Jazz-Lebanese artist Sami Moukaddem entitled Resistance: Soul Food. A collaboration which sprung from Róisín's appearances at anti-war on Iraq rallies and Remember Palestine concerts.

In 2003, Róisín recorded An Phalistín for Sharon Shannon's much acclaimed album Libertango. The song was penned by Treasa Ní Cheannabháin and the music composed by both Treasa and Dónal Lunny. Following its appearance on Libertango, the song was released as a single in Ireland. The aim was to help raise awareness of the Palestinian plight but primarily to aid the Galway Palestinian Solidarity Movement in bringing Palestinian children from the Palestinian camps within Israel to Galway for a short break from the everyday holistities they experience there.

Róisín is not afraid to perform solo either, as she has done on numerous occasssions to audiences big and small, from Galway (The Galway Sessions), Belfast (Open House Festival), Lorient (La Festival Interceltique), Glasgow (Celtic Connections) and many more.

Róisín's first solo album 'Má bhíonn tú liom bí liom' was released in mid-January this year on the Vertical Records label to much accolade. The album was produced by the world-acclaimed Dónal Lunny and features world class musicians Máirtín Ó Connor, Graham Henderson, Ronan Browne, Siobhán Armstrong and dancer Seosamh Ó Neachtain. The album has both new and traditional songs, mostly in Irish and a healthy balance of accompanied and acapella tracks. 'A thing of beauty from beginning to end' - The Irish Times.