25-year-old Sean Fahy has been crowned Ireland’s Glór Tíre Country Music Champion, following last night’s (Tuesday, February 22nd, 2023) broadcast, which was televised nationally.
He clinched the top spot with his renditions of Seven Spanish Angels and Texas When I Die, beating off competition from Noel Boland and Molly O’Connell.
Speaking following the result of TG4’s hit country music competition, he said: “Well, we have done it. Thank you to each and every one of you for getting behind me throughout this whole process.”
“Hopefully, I can keep the fire burning now, and you may see me up and down the country somewhere. Come on, Mayo,” he concluded.
Country music
Fahy, a Belmullet, Co Mayo native, grew up on a farm and is currently a full-time music and Irish teacher in a secondary school.
Speaking to That’s Farming editor, Catherina Cunnane previously, he stated:
“I was delighted to have been chosen by the fantastic David James to be one of his contestants in this year’s series.”
“A massive goal of mine this year is to break into the Irish country scene here in Ireland, so hopefully, Glór Tíre will help me with that.”
“It takes hard work and dedication to make it onto the scene, so I aspire to work as hard as I can over the next few years to hopefully make my dream a reality.”
Challenges and new album release
He told Cunnane how he has faced many challenges since “starting to try and get my name out there”.
The main issue, he flagged during the interview, was the lack of live entertainment in his vicinity, as “we would have to travel more than two hours from Belmullet to hear a country band play compared to other areas in Ireland”.
“It just makes it a bit more difficult to break into the scene as there are not as many opportunities for young singers to get up and sing.”
“Not every young person is interested in the genre, so it is difficult trying to build a fanbase amongst the younger generation, in particular.”
To date, Fahy has shared the stage with Nathan Carter, Johnny Brady and Lisa McHugh and has performed at Cowboys and Heroes – one of the country’s biggest country music festivals.
He is currently in the process of finalising his debut musical album, which he intends to release towards the end of 2023.
Read Sean Fahy’s interview with Catherina Cunnane.
That’s Farming also previously interviewed the competition’s 2022 winner, Aisling Rafferty, and Emma Donohue, the 2021 TG4 Glór Tíre champion.
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