Damien Dempsey

Damien Dempsey writes about Ireland from the street he grew up on. Born in 1975 and raised in Donaghmede, on Dublin's Northside, he sings mostly in English, occasionally in Irish, and always in his own working-class accent, setting pointed social and political commentary to traditional folk. Post-pub sessions in his parents' house shaped his ear, and Christy Moore, Luke Kelly, Shane MacGowan, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley followed. Years on the dole, reading Irish history in the local library, left him with a lasting regard for the seanchaí, the storyteller.

After Ballyfermot's Rock School came the EP The Contender in 1995, and Dublin Town reached number 18 in Ireland in 1997. His debut album, They Don't Teach This Shit in School, sold poorly in 2000, and he worked in a New York Irish bar before returning. Sinéad O'Connor, who sang backing vocals on a John Reynolds-produced recording featuring a guitar riff from Brian Eno, took him on tour. Seize the Day entered the Irish chart at number five in 2003 and went double platinum; Morrissey later signed him to Attack. Shots reached number one in Ireland in 2005, and To Hell or Barbados reached number two in 2007.