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If you saw Katie McMahon at a Minneapolis park with her son, Michael, you’d probably assume she grew up in Minnesota. Like most hardy Minnesotans she’s dressed for the weather, be it a winter afternoon or a hot summer day. However, if you happen to hear Katie chat with another mom or sing a little song to her son, her lovely voice and accent will give her away; she’s not a born and bred Minnesotan, she’s from Ireland. Yet her voice is so familiar, you start to wonder if you’ve met somewhere along the way.

In a way, maybe you already have met Katie. As the “original voice” of the world-acclaimed musical show, Riverdance, Katie’s soaring soprano has been heard by millions, her face recognized by countless thousands who have seen Riverdance in person or on their television screens at home. But what is Katie doing in Minnesota? Well, like any other story, we have to go back to the beginning to find out.

As a girl growing up in Dublin, Ireland, Katie was doubly blessed to have an Irish father and a German mother who taught Katie to sing Silent Night in German when she was just three. Surrounded by a country rich in musical heritage and supported by her parents, it was natural for Katie to keep singing. She took up piano and harp and decided to study music, Italian and Drama Studies at Trinity College in Dublin. After two years Katie found she enjoyed her music classes — less so her Italian — so Katie decided to take a break and re-evaluate where she was going.

While on break Katie had an opportunity to hone her musical skills as a soloist with the Dublin-based a cappella group, Anuna. In 1994 Anuna was part of a special music and dance number at the Eurovision Song Contest which was such a hit that it evolved into a full-length musical-type show that took the world by storm – Riverdance. When Katie was asked to go on tour with Riverdance as the show’s lead soloist she jumped at the chance.

Katie realized that touring with Riverdance would be a life-changing adventure but a tour stop in Minneapolis in 1998 changed her life in a way she didn’t expect. There, backstage at the Orpheum Theatre, Katie met the Orpheum’s artist relations person, Ben Craig. Ben and Katie hit it off and, she says with a mischievous grin and her lilting Irish voice, “we related quite well.” As Katie continued the Riverdance tour, she and Ben started a long-distance romance. Ben soon proposed and Katie, having just released her first solo album, After the Morning, decided to leave Riverdance in November 1999 to continue with her solo career. The couple married in Dublin the following September then flew back to Minnesota to settle into their new life together.

While the main reason Katie settled in Minnesota was Ben, “Minneapolis was also one of my favorite cities on the Riverdance tour.” Katie finds the Minnesota music scene varied and exciting and was already plugged into the local scene through Ben who plays bass in his award-winning rockabilly band, Stockcar Named Desire. The arts, Katie notes, are well-represented, the Irish community supportive and active. The snow and cold took some getting used to, Katie says, but she enjoys the changing Minnesota seasons. Plus, Katie adds, “I think people are nicer here, more polite and gentle. Minnesota Nice is pretty great in my book!”

What’s Katie been up to since settling in Minnesota? She’s continued with her solo singing career, teaches harp and voice lessons and has performed in dozens of shows with her band. She’s toured with other groups including Secret Garden and the well-known O’Neill Brothers from New Prague, Minnesota. She’s released three solo albums, Shine, Celtic Christmas and St. Patrick’s Day and is getting ready to record songs for a new Christmas album, Christmas Angels. But, most life-changing of all, Katie is now a mom to her own blond-haired angel, Michael, who will soon be four years old.

Minnesota is a good place to raise a family, Katie notes, but “people work too hard here. That’s one thing they’re experts at in Ireland – taking it easy. There’s a certain sense of freedom there,” Katie says. “I want my son to experience the wonderful summers I had in the West of Ireland,” so Katie makes sure she gets back to Ireland at least once a year to spend time with her family.

Once back from Ireland, it’s time for Katie and her band to start rehearsing for her annual Celtic Christmas show. While the glitz and glamour of many Christmas shows feels over the top, Katie “stays away from tinselly songs that go on about presents and Santa Claus.” Instead, supported by her band, back-up singers and troupe of Irish step dancers, Katie treats her audiences to nostalgic songs from Christmases of old mixed in with at least a couple of songs sung in Gaelic or German. She encourages the audience to sing along and chats with her audience members between songs as though they were dear old friends. Indeed, in a way many of them are, as two-thirds of her audience have made Celtic Christmas a holiday tradition and come back year after year.

Although Katie has met famous celebrities and traveled the world, her Celtic Christmas show at the O’Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul is a highlight of her musical career. She feels like she’s made a difference when audience members tell her the show gives them respite from the crazy busyness of Christmas, that upon leaving they feel recharged and ready to focus on the reason for the season.

The O’Shaughnessy show recharges Katie’s spirit, too, as it signifies the start of Christmas for her family. And when she sings Silent Night with her family around their Christmas tree Katie’s heart is warmed in the cold Minnesota winter as she passes on traditions and a musical heritage to her son.