Born in Roscrea, Coughlan moved to Cork when he was eleven years old. Music was an integral part of family life and Eoin's brother Ciaran is an acclaimed pianist with traditional outfit North Cregg. Eoin began playing guitar at thirteen.
In the summer of 1996, Eoin was invited to join as lead vocalist and songwriter of the band Nomos and just three months later found himself on a 6 week tour of the US.
Nomos were considered world musicians on the US tour circuit and gave performances at a myriad of festivals across the country, playing alongside the likes of Emmylou Harris, Billy Bragg, Nancy Griffiths and Baaba Mall.
In 2000 Nomos split to pursue new challenges. Coughlan decided it was time to write his own album, wanting to re-establish himself as a contemporary musician. To raise the money to do so Eoin began giving workshops in drumming and songwriting, teaching traditional music in schools and working on music based projects in disadvantaged areas. As a fluent Irish speaker, the opportunities were good in the area of education.
In 2003, Coughlan became musician in residence for Limerick County and began tutoring in traditional Irish music and composition at UL. It was in Limerick that he met with Mick Dolan who came on board to manage making Eoin’s album, founding Dock Road Records in order to release it.
Produced by Dave Odlum, (ex Frames guitarist, producer for Josh Ritter, Gemma Hayes, The Frames etc..) Blood In Vein was recorded in Black Box Studios in France over a series of sessions throughout 2005 and 2006.
Having toured with Paddy Casey, Mundy, Gemma Hayes, Damien Dempsey, Juliet Turner and supported Gomez, Bryan Ferry and Ocean Colour Scene, Coughlan hits the Irish tour trail with his first full headline solo tour in March. |
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