Mary Coughlan is an Irish jazz and folk singer and actress born on May 5, 1956, in Galway. She performed music in the jazz, folk-rock, and Irish traditional genres. Coughlan began her career in the mid-1980s following a collaboration with producer Erik Visser. Her debut studio recording, Tired and Emotional (1985), sold 100,000 copies in Ireland. In 1987, she released the album Under the Influence, which featured the recording “Ride On”, reaching number 5 on the Irish rock charts. Coughlan made her acting debut in the 1988 film High Spirits. Her discography included the studio albums Uncertain Pleasures (1990), Sentimental Killer (1992), and Love for Sale (1993). She participated in the compilation A Woman's Heart Vol. 2 in 1994. Subsequent recordings included Mary Coughlan Sings Billie Holiday (2000), Red Blues (2002), and The House of Ill Repute (2008). In 2018, she collaborated on the multimedia production Woman Undone.
