Tipperary country music star Aishling Rafferty reflects on a 'whirlwind of a year'

Tipperary’s Country Music star, Aishling Rafferty, will be the special guest at the Grand Final of the current series of Glór Tíre, to be broadcast on TG4 on Tuesday February 21, at 9.30pm.

It’s been a “whirlwind of a year” for the Knockshegowna native since she won the title of Ireland’s Glór Tíre Country Music champion in 2022.

“My life has changed so dramatically in the last year, with gigs I never thought I’d be doing, and playing venues I never thought I’d be in,” she says. “From winning Glór Tíre, people took a shine to me and took a chance on me.”

Since that Glór Tíre win, Aishling has played the University Concert Hall in Limerick twice, first as support to leading Country & Irish singer, Mike Denver - who was her mentor on last year’s Glor Tíre - and then as the headliner for a special acoustic concert of female Country artists.

“That was fantastic,” she says. “I never thought I’d be doing my own headline gig there. It was very nerve-wracking, it was something different for me - sitting down, with just a guitar player - but I loved every minute of it and I definitely want to do more of that.”

Aishling’s Glór Tíre victory has resulted in more gigging opportunities over the last 12 months - including an appearance at the Cut Loose Country Music Festival - and an ever expanding fanbase.

“That’s been the biggest highlight,” she says. “I just absolutely love gigging, myself and Noel Ryan, my keyboard player.

Returning to perform at the Grand Final of TG4’s long running, hit Country & Irish music series, will, however, be a bittersweet experience for Aishling, as she comes back a more confident performer, but without the presence of her greatest champion - her father, John Rafferty.

“Last year, I also was lucky enough to have my dad with me every night for the finals, but, unfortunately, he’s passed away since.

“He was the man behind the wheel for me on Glór Tíre. He had his own special chair every week, the crew always kept a chair aside for him to watch me perform. It’ll be very strange going back and not having him there, but I know he’ll be there in spirit,” she says.

After her Glór Tíre performance, Aishling has plenty to look forward to in terms of upcoming shows.

“Myself and Noel are taking more bookings up and down the country, and I’ve a good few concerts coming up with Mike Denver,” she says. “Mike has been absolutely fantastic. If I need advice about a song, or anything really, I know I can count on him.”

And her many fans will be delighted to hear she has new music on the way.

Her most recent single, Two Sparrows and a Hurricane, went straight into No 1 on iTunes. The song is taken from a forthcoming compilation album, The Women of Country, featuring Irish and American women Country singers, from the county Kildare-based Downda Road Productions.

The proceeds from the album will be distributed among women’s charities around Ireland.

“I was delighted to offer my services,” says Aishling, a noted charity worker, having won the Tipperary and National Garda Youth awards and the bronze and gold Pope John Paul II awards in recognition of her charitable endeavours.

“I just love giving back. There’s always people worse off than you," she says.

Aishling has released two albums to date - My Journey (2020) and Love Me When I’m Old (2022) - and her third album is currently in the works.

“I’m really excited for this one,” she says. “I have half of it recorded, but I have a few more to pick. I do a lot of social dancing, the bigger gigs with Mike Denver, and the jiving, so I’m trying to pick songs that will resonate with every generation.”

As such, there will be a few non-Country songs on the album, “just to bring other people in”.

“If they listen to one song on the album that might not be Country, you never know, they might start listening to all the other songs, and grow a love for it,” she says. “That happens to a lot of people.”

The album will also be a tribute to her father as it will feature the single, There’s a Moon Over Ireland.

“I released that a couple of weeks before my Dad passed away,” she says. “That was his favourite song, so I’m probably going to call the album after that song.”

In addition to her growing gig schedule and recording commitments, Aishling also, somehow, manages to find time to continue her studies at the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick.

“I adore it,” she declares. “I was on my placement for six months in my local secondary school, teaching music. I loved doing the practical work, getting the hands-on experience, as I think that is where you learn the most.

“I have a year-and-a-half left and after that I want to do my Master's. It’s so good to be surrounded by people who are like minded.

"When I was in secondary school, there were six or seven of us in the music class, and half of them didn’t want to be there, so it’s great to be in a place where everyone loves it and you can bounce ideas off each other," says Ashling.