Country and Irish is a musical subgenre in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

formed by mixing North American

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

-style music with Irish influences. It is especially popular in the rural Midlands and North-West of the country, but less so in urban areas or in the South-West where more

traditional Irish music Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

is favoured. It also remains popular among Irish emigrants in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

, particularly among the older generation. In a review of the album ''Round the house and mind the dresser: Irish country house dance music'', Vic Gammon observes that the music was partially inspired by a desire for cultural independence.

Artists

Artists who would fit this genre include: *

Philomena Begley Philomena Begley (born 20 October 1942) is a country music singer from Northern Ireland. In 1975, Begley had a hit with her version of the Billie Jo Spears' song Blanket on the Ground reaching higher sales then Spears in both the UK and Irelan ...

Big Tom Tom McBride (18 September 1936 – 17 April 2018), known as Big Tom, was an Irish country, traditional and easy listening singer, as well as a guitarist, and saxophone player. With a career spanning over six decades, he started his career in ...

Nathan Carter Nathan Kane Tyrone Carter (born 28 May 1990) is a British-born Irish country music singer based in the UK and Ireland. He has released thirteen studio albums and six live albums as of December 2022, five of which peaked at number one, and four ...

* Richie Kavanagh *

Crystal Swing Crystal Swing are a new wave Country and Western, and Country and Irish showband, from Lisgoold, County Cork, Ireland. The family group is made up of mother Mary Murray-Burke and her children Dervla Burke and Derek Burke. The group rose to n ...

Larry Cunningham Larry Cunningham (13 February 1938 – 28 September 2012) was an Irish country music singer, who was one of the leading figures of the showband scene in the 1960s and 1970s. Cunningham accomplished a series of "firsts" during his career. In 1964 ...

* T.R. Dallas *

Mike Denver Michael Fallon (born 15 June 1980 in Portumna, County Galway) known as Mike Denver, is an Irish country singer. Career Starting touring at age 16, he later on met manager Willie Carty who signed him. Denver recorded his first album ''Wings to Fl ...

Mary Duff Mary Duff is an Irish country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an ...

* Kathy Durkin * Mick Flavin * Michael English *

John Farry John Farry (born 1958, Enniskillen) is a Northern Irish singer/songwriter from Garrison, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. He played in Irish Country bands ''Toledo, Amarillo,Tennessee Sunshine as a vocalist and guitarist before launching a ...

Foster and Allen Foster and Allen are a musical duo from Ireland consisting of Mick Foster and Tony Allen. In their 47-year career, they have released over 52 albums, many of which entered the UK Albums Chart. Along with "A Bunch of Thyme" (entering the Irish ch ...

Cliona Hagan Cliona Hagan (born 27 February 1989) is an Irish country music singer from Ballinderry, County Tyrone. Career ''The All Ireland Talent Show'' Hagan appeared as a contestant on the 2009 first series of the RTÉ reality talent competition, '' ...

* John Hogan * James Kilbane * Johnny Loughrey *

Margo *** People * Margo (actress) (1917–1985), Mexican-American actress and dancer * Margo (magician), American magic performer and actress * Margo (singer), Irish singer * Margo (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name ...

* Lee Matthews * Susan McCann *

Johnny McCauley Johnny McCauley (23 April 1925 – 22 March 2012) was an Irish singer-songwriter, born in Myroe, near Limavady, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. As a young adult, he moved to London and in 1953 began singing professionally with his band, t ...

Johnny McEvoy Johnny McEvoy (born 24 April 1945) is an Irish singer and entertainer of Country and Irish genre born in Banagher, County Offaly, Ireland. Personal life Johnny was born in 1945, one of four children with two sisters and a brother to John a ...

Lisa McHugh Lisa McHugh (born 16 August 1988) is a Scottish pop and country singer. She was born in Glasgow, Scotland to Irish parents. Her father is from Castlederg in County Tyrone and her mother is from Falcarragh, County Donegal. In June 2010 she mov ...

* John McNicholl * P. J. Murrihy * Declan Nerney * Paddy O'Brien *

Daniel O'Donnell Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had co ...

* Derek Ryan

Media

Country and Irish is featured on national and local media. Most local radio stations outside

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

have a music show dedicated to country music, on programs such as ''Country Roads'' and ''Céilí Lár Tíre'' on

Midlands 103 Midlands 103 (previously known as Midlands Radio 3) is an Irish local independent radio station broadcasting to counties Laois, Offaly, and Westmeath. The station's offices and main broadcast studios are in Tullamore, County Offaly. It also ...

and on ''The Country Lounge'' on CRCfm. RTÉ Radio provide an hour of each Saturday with ''Country Time'' with Sandy Harsch. In television, many of the country and Irish musicians had TV shows on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

during the 1980s such as ''The Sandy Kelly Show'' and ''The Red Hurley Show'', but by the 1990s many of those shows had been axed by RTÉ. RTÉ also broadcast Country Music Television on

RTÉ Two (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

during the 1990s. In the 2000s, RTÉ produced a retrospective series, ''A Little Bit Country'', featuring stars from the golden era of Irish country music. The Irish Language Television service

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

has provided a number of country and Irish programmes in its schedules such as ''

Glór Tíre ''Glór Tíre'' (, "voice of the country") is a reality-based talent search for Ireland's newest country and western music star. It has been running for a number of seasons on TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public ...

'' ("Country Voice"). Ireland West Music Television, a 24-hour country and Irish channel, was founded in the UK and Ireland in 2011.

References

Irish styles of music

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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