Elizabeth "Bess" Cronin was an influential singer of Irish traditional music in the sean-nós style. She sang hundreds of songs which she learnt as a youth, half of which were in the Irish language, which was her first language. She was visited and recorded by prominent collectors of traditional music including Alan Lomax, Jean Ritchie, Peter Kennedy and Seamus Ennis. Some of her songs inspired popular recordings, such as her version of Siúil a Rún, which was covered by Clannad and Celtic Women.