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-West where more traditional Irish music is favoured. It also remains popular among Irish emigrants in Britain, particularly among the older generation.
Artists
The following artists would be considered in the genre
- Big Tom
- Philomena Begley
- Nathan Carter
- Crystal Swing
- Larry Cunningham
- T.R. Dallas
- Mary Duff
- Kathy Durkin
- Mick Flavin
- John Farry
- Foster and Allen
- John Hogan
- James Kilbane
- Johnny Loughrey
- Margo
- Lee Matthews
- Susan McCann
- Johnny McCauley
- Johnny McEvoy
- Lisa McHugh
- John McNicholl
- Declan Nerney
- Daniel O'Donnell
- Shane Owens
- Brendan Quinn
- Derek Ryan
- Paddy O'Brien
- Mike Denver
Media
Country and Irish is featured on national and local media. Most local radio stations outside Dublin have a music show dedicated to Country Music, on programs such as Céilí Lár Tíre on Midlands Radio 3 and on The Country Lounge on CRCfm. RTÉ Radio provide an hour of each Saturday with Country Time with Sandy Harsch.[1]
On television many of the Country and Irish musicians had TV shows on RTÉ One during the 1980s such as The Sandy Kelly Show or the Red Hurley Show, by the 1990s many of those shows had been axed by RTÉ. RTÉ also broadcast the Country Music Television on RTÉ Two during the 1990s. In the 2000s RTÉ produced a retrospective series called A Little Bit Country feature stars from the golden era of Irish Country music.
The Irish Language Television service TG4 has provided a number of Country and Irish programmes on its schedules such as Glór Tíre (Country Voice).