James Kilbane (born 14 October 1970) is an Irish Christian country, gospel, and

country and Irish Country and Irish is a musical subgenre in Ireland formed by mixing North American country-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 ...

singer. Kilbane was the runner up in the second series of RTÉ One's '' You're A Star'' in 2004.

Career

Kilbane finished second in the second series of RTÉ One's ''You're A Star'', a competition to select the Irish entrant for the

2004 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 was the 49th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Istanbul, Turkey, following the country's victory at the with the song "Everyway That I Can" by Sertab Erener. Organised by the European Broa ...

. Kilbane ultimately lost out to

Chris Doran Christopher Doran (born 22 November 1979) is an Irish singer from Waterford. He was the winner of Ireland's ''You're a Star'' 2003-2004 talent search competition to find Ireland's Eurovision Song Contest entry. The competition held auditions thr ...

in the final. Since 2004, Kilbane has released a number of albums on the Gold Eagle Music label including ''King of the Road'', ''Close to You, Hymns of Praise'', ''Divine Love'', ''Life's Miracle'', ''Heart to Heart'', ''Glory and Grace'', ''Mary: The Lord's Servant'', ''The Songs of Faith Collection'', ''The Family Collection'', ''Gravel & Grace'' and ''Songs of Ireland'', as well as a Christmas album titled ''The Christmas Collection.'' Kilbane's albums often feature Nashville and Irish collaborations. In June 2012, Kilbane and his band performed at the 50th International Eucharistic Congress at the RDS Arena in

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 ...

. Kilbane continues to contribute to other religious events in Ireland, including at Knock. In 2018, Kilbane criticized the selection of Daniel O'Donnell to perform for

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

during his visit to Ireland that year on account of O'Donnell's support for a "yes" vote in Ireland's same-sex marriage referendum in 2015. Since 2016, Kilbane has hosted ''Keltic Country Gospel with James Kilbane'' on the UK digital TV channel Keep It Country. In 2019, Kilbane was voted as Irish Gospel Singer Of The Year as part of the Irish Entertainment Awards.

Personal life

Kilbane was born in Central Middlesex Hospital,

Park Royal Park Royal is an area in North West London, England, partly in the London Borough of Brent and partly the London Borough of Ealing. It is the site of the largest business park in London, but despite intensive existing use, the area is, to ...

, London, England and lived for some of his childhood in Harlesden,

North West London The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of 13 postcode districts covering around 13,895 live postcodes within part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originally ...

. He lives in Achill, Co. Mayo. He married his wife Christina in 1989, they have two children. He is related to Irish international footballer

Kevin Kilbane Kevin Daniel Kilbane (; born 1 February 1977) is a former professional footballer who played as a left winger or full back. Kilbane won 110 caps for the Republic of Ireland national team, fourth behind only Robbie Keane, Shay Given and John O' ...

, and is also related to the Stoke City F.C. and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

football player Darren Fletcher, as well as 1912-1923

World Featherweight Champion Championship recognition Public Acclamation: 1884 to 1921 Champions were recognized by wide public acclamation. A heavyweight champion was a boxer who had a notable win over another notable boxer and then went without defeat. Retirements from the ...

Johnny Kilbane John Patrick Kilbane (April 9, 1889 – May 31, 1957) was an American featherweight boxer in the early part of the 20th century. He held the World Featherweight title from 1912 to 1923, the longest period in the division's history, having defen ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kilbane, James Irish gospel singers Irish country singers Christian country singers Irish folk singers Living people 1970 births You're a Star contestants Achill Island 21st-century Irish male singers