Deirdre Shannon was born into the Gilsenan family of County Meath. Deirdre was the middle child of five siblings. She and her four siblings grew up on a farm.

Deirdre's exposure to music came very early on from her parents and older siblings. Her formal introduction came at the age of nine when her parents enrolled her to take piano lessons. She and her siblings participated in the church choir and in local events, such as weddings, funerals, competitions and local concerts. In 1992, Deirdre entered Dublin's College of Music and studied under the guidance of vocal trainer Mary Brennan. She participated in a plethora of musical activities, including traveling with the Dublin Institute of Technology Choir.

Deirdre began[citation needed] her professional career in 1996 when she was selected as a member of the Irish choir Anuna, where she became a lead soloist.

In 1997, Deirdre was selected by Michael Flatley to join his world wide tour with the show Lord of the Dance. She was cast into the role[citation needed] of Erin the Goddess and performed in over 800 shows over a four-year period covering most of North and South America.

Since her professional debut, Deirdre has performed with artists including[citation needed] Eily O'Grady, Dionne Warwick, The Celtic Tenors, Air Supply, Celtic Woman. Deirdre's accomplishments have also included participating[citation needed] in the sound track of RTÉ's historical documentary television series called The Island. She has also made appearances on CBS Morning News, Fox Morning TV, and The Late Late Show.

On 1 October 2006 Deirdre released her solo album, simply entitled Deirdre Shannon.

--Wikipedia