Irish star Daoiri Farrell on his love for Irish traditional music (AUDIO)

Allow me to introduce myself.

My name is Daoirí (pronounced Derry) Farrell and I was born and raised in Dublin. Ever since I can remember I have loved music, in particular, Irish traditional music.

I started playing music at quite a late stage in my life however, but as far back as I can remember I’ve always loved and listened to it.

 Old records and cassette tapes of Christy Moore, Thin Lizzy, The Bothy Band, Michael Jackson, Elvis and Planxty, were among some of the genres of music I  listened to as I went about my daily rambles as a youngster.

At the age of seven, for my Holy Communion, I bought my first CD. It was Andy Irvine and Paul Brady’s album 1976, and it totally blew me away. I was hooked on folk music and songs forever after that.

At the age of 12 I started to play instruments. Guitar first, then banjo, mandolin, bodhrán and eventually bouzouki. After a couple of years I started playing and singing songs for a living. I got my first break on a tour of Germany as a solo artist in 2009, and from there I went on to play all over Europe.

 I studied songs and music in college for five years and during this time, I have come to discover that Irish music was and still is one of the most influential and inspiring genres of music in the world and is loved throughout Europe and America. America, one of the countries that I, one day, hope to have the pleasure of performing in.