As he marks the 10th anniversary of the release of Willie’s Shoes, Ciaran Rosney reflects to RSVP Country on the past decade – the highs, the lows, the support of his loving family and why the future is bright for the industry.
Ciaran Rosney
You’re celebrating 10 years of success in the country music industry. How does it feel reflecting on the past decade?
It’s been ten years since Willie’s Shoes, which was the second song I recorded. After that, I quit my teaching job and went full-time into music. You’ve Got To Stand for Something was my first single but then we brought out Willie’s Shoes and it put me on the map, really. It made things happen for me. I was able to book gigs and record more songs off the back of it. It really got me going and it has been full steam ahead ever since. I was mainly a solo act up until 2018 when I launched the band. We were getting on great and going hell for leather but then Covid hit us and knocked us out completely. We had put our heart and soul and every penny into the band. We were only turning a corner, we had launched a Glen Campbell concert tour, everything shut down. Lockdown took the band off the road and put a lot of people out of business. It has been a tough few years since, I had to start from scratch again with my own management.
Starting over having already enjoyed success must have been challenging.
Yes. I put out some solo stuff and have slowly built stuff up since then. I have a great little band now, a Monaghan-based band. I’m still doing some solo work too. So ten years in the business has been a milestone with a lot of ups and downs. Willie’s Shoes gave us a great lift, allowing us to finish that first album, Country At Heart. I’ll be launching my fourth album this year – an album that I’ve been working on since 2020, really. I had just finished my album, Back In My Heart Once Again, at the start of Covid, so this album I’m bringing out now is five years in the making. I was initially working on two albums in Covid – one pop country, the other traditional country. I kind of decided to combine the music. I had some great success with Green Green Grass by George Ezra, I made a nice country version of that. Uncle Pen Ricky Skaggs was another great one, and Kiss Me by Dermot Kennedy. There’s been a mix of traditional and experimental pop country. I’m hoping to release another album towards the end of the year. It’s all go, it’s all great, I do all of my recordings with the great Jonathan Owens in Co. Longford. I’ve worked with him for the last few years.
You mentioned leaving your full-time job to become a country singer, what did your family make of that decision?
I married my wife Jean in 2012 and at the time I was a lecturer in college teaching music, a very steady job. We weren’t long married when I decided that it wasn’t for me and I needed to be out there playing music. For any wife or partner it’s a big change, because you go from a steady income knowing what you’re getting paid to not knowing what the next will bring. Jean has been very supportive of me all through the years. I was lucky to find her, really, she’s an incredible woman. Only for her really I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing. She has supported me all the way through, from back when I was recording songs, maybe not getting as much airplay as I’d like. It was tough, we weren’t making much money back from the songs. At least now that we’re a bit more established, we’re getting some royalties from online which helps.
Was making money ever a concern for you?
At the beginning it was very tough. And then of course, when I decided to launch the band that was a major step. It was going to cost money to keep the band going, we had to keep recording songs and videos, and the band had to be paid every night whether it was a good night or a bad night. I remember coming home – and this is the truth – at 3,4, or 5 o’clock in the morning, crying my eyes out, saying, “I’m not doing this again”. I always remember Jean saying, “Just get a good night’s sleep and we’ll tackle it tomorrow”. She was so supportive, because it did take a lot of money to put the band on the road. I think in this business if you don’t have a supportive partner you’re fighting an uphill battle. It’s a very hard life.
You and Jean have three children – are they impressed by what you do for a living?
We have three daughters and have settled up in Laffan, just outside Castleblayney in Monaghan. I never pushed them into the music, I’d do my thing and let them do their thing. But they think it’s cool to have a daddy out singing and his songs being played on the radio. Sarah Jane is the oldest, she’s 12 now, which is scary! Della is our middle child, she is 10. Nainsí is six. They’re great kids, very smart and well behaved with a great mammy who looks after them well. Thankfully we’re all good, our health is good. My own health wasn’t great over the years but I battled on and I’m in great shape, thank God. I’m out there, playing gigs up and down the country. I tend to stay in Ireland because I like to get into my own bed at night, even if it’s a late night. I’m very lucky to have my parents still around, they’re in Offaly, so I can stay there if I’m doing a show nearby. I’m happy, I don’t feel the need to travel the world.
Being a dad to three young girls is probably a factor when it comes to your touring schedule, right?
True, and it’s hard to beat your own bed. When you stay overnight in hotels you have to be out at a certain hour, but when you’re at home you’re with family, and the bed is nice and cosy. It’s always nice to get home. And my mother spoils me when I’m at hers! So I mainly stay in Ireland, but this year I am going to Scotland for a tour. I decided to take a week off and go over with the band, which will be a bit of craic. It’ll be something different. Myself and Jean are also going to Nashville in March. It’s my first time, I always put it off. It’s expensive to go, but we bit the bullet and said we’d do it. I’m looking forward to that.
Nashville has become a very popular tourist spot. Country music is having a moment both at home and abroad, with Irish artists enjoying success and US artists topping the charts. Why do you think that is?
It’s very encouraging to see traditional country artists coming to the fore in America now. It’s bringing real country back which I love to see myself. Ireland, of course, feeds off American country music and has done since day one, we have very close links. I do notice it becoming more popular, I can see it with friends of mine who would have never been into country music going to the big concerts and it’s great to see the likes of Luke Combs coming over to play Slane Castle. America is producing some really great singers now. The future is bright, and in Ireland too. There are a lot of jiving classes around the country and they’re very popular with younger people. They’re eager to learn all of the fancy moves, not just the basics. It’s a good sign for the future and the health of Irish country. I know we’re fond of American country music but Irish country music seems to be having a regrowth as well. People like Jack Keogh and Effie Neill are bringing it back to younger audiences. It’s great to see, because at the end of the day we’re from Ireland and country music is about the place you’re from. It has taken a good few years from the shock of Covid for everybody in every walk of life and country music is no different. We’re still in ways recovering from that. I can see out there the confidence is building with people. It might take different directions – certain things are becoming popular like the trips abroad to Spain and Portugal, and the regular dance gigs in certain areas might not be as busy as they used to, but it will all come back again in time. The country weekends are very big all around Ireland, too.
Looking back on the past ten years and all of the highs and lows, would you say you are now better equipped to deal with all of the changes in the industry?
Every band has to adapt to whatever the situation they find themselves in. We’ve had to cut down on production, but the boys I’m with now, we’re all in it together. We help each other out with the travelling, the gear and the setting up because we had to cut down costs in order to make it happen. That’s just the way it is. Things are always changing and evolving with entertainment and country music. Sometimes it’s hard to adapt, we’d be used to a certain way of performing and entertaining, so you have to be open to changing it up. But that is what makes it so exciting. 2026 is going to be a big year.
To coincide with this 10 year anniversary in Ciarán’s career, a series of events are planned throughout the 2026 Callender year, including release of a double album; ‘Ciarán Rosney – 10 Years on’ and a brand new tour. Visit www.ciaranrosney.com for more information.
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