The online home of Irish singer-songwriter Jimmy MacCarthy. Here you will find all the latest news about Jimmy’s music, recordings and live performances.
“A quick update on the forthcoming release of Jimmy MacCarthy – The Song of the Singing Horseman.
The album will now be released on Friday, 2nd October on vinyl and CD.
We’re really looking forward to sharing this special release with you and would like to thank everyone who has already pre-ordered for their patience and support.
Recently Jimmy MacCarthy did an interview with the magazine Ireland’s Own, which can now be purchased from your local newsagent.
Here is a snippet of the interview, which can be read in full in the latest issue:
From Ride On and No Frontiers to The Contender and The Bright Blue Rose, Jimmy MacCarthy’s songs have become woven into the fabric of Irish life. As he prepares to return to the stage, the legendary songwriter talks to Shea Tomkins about his Cork upbringing, the inspirations behind his timeless classics, and a lifetime devoted to songwriting.
Sometimes in life you can feel that you know someone quite well without ever actually having met them, and acclaimed songwriter Jimmy MacCarthy is a prime example of that kind of person. The reason behind that feeling is that through a lifetime of producing haunting lyrics and enchanting melodies, his work has unobtrusively become part of the Irish psyche. With instantly recognisable titles such as Ride On, No Frontiers, The Bright Blue Rose, Katie and The Contender to his credit, it would be a challenge to go on a night out across Ireland and not find someone performing one of his songs. That’s because everybody knows a Jimmy MacCarthy song.
When he sits down to chat to Ireland’s Own, he is excited about performing in front of live audiences again. With five very special concerts planned to mark the re-release of his 1991 album The Song of the Singing Horseman, he is in sparkling form as he reflects on his upbringing, and shares insight into where the inspiration for some of his best known songs came from.
“I was born in Macroom and grew up in Cork City, where I went to school in Pres and Christian Brothers,” says Jimmy. “My mam and dad were extraordinary people, and I’m the second oldest of twelve. My mother was very creatively artistic, and quite a talented amateur painter, potter etc.
“My father had what I would say was a marked turn of phrase, which I think I inherited a little bit of. He would say such things as, ‘there is no such thing as chance Jim, but order unknown’. He would also say things like, ‘little things make perfection, and perfection is no little thing’, and those little phrases became ingrained in my life, I have to say. One-line philosophies, I suppose you could call them.
“My mother got the aviation bug at a very young age. She was taken to an airshow in Ballincollig and for two shillings she was taken up into the air for seven minutes and dropped down again, and all her life she wanted to fly.
“She took flying lessons and was about ten hours short of being the first female licensed pilot in Ireland when she became pregnant with my twin brothers. Therefore, my grandfather, James Manly, forbade her from flying and, as she said herself, her wings were clipped.
“She loved art and her great achievement in her own mind was my brother, Seán, who was a sculptor who, if you ever come out of Cork Airport and you look straight in front of you, you’ll see an eight-and-a-half-foot bronze statue of Christy Ring, well that’s my brother Seán’s creation. And he’s a very fine painter also.
“So the first verse of No Frontiers is just like Amelia dying, with reference to my mother, and the second verse is about my father, who was a terror on the drink. Now, when he got a programme he was exemplary for the rest of his life, and in fact they were both very loving parents; even though not tactile, they were very affectionate. It wasn’t easy, at any time in our history, shoeing and feeding twelve children!”
Jimmy’s father had a small transport business that delivered publications such as the Farmers Journal, Business and Finance, Woman’s Way, Spotlight and then all of the daily newspapers and Sunday papers to east, north and west Cork mainly, but they did runs between Cork and Dublin for different things too. It was a busy 24-hour around the clock house to grow up in, with men coming and going and having fries and cups of tea all day and all night long. Young Jimmy thrived in this bustling environment, and even though he was nine when he got his first guitar, he had different ambitions as a teenager.
Dolphin Music Group have announced a date for the re-release of Jimmy MacCarthy’s classic album The Song of the Singing Horseman.
The album, which was first released in 1991 on Mulligan Records was re-released in 2016 on Jimmy’s own label Ride On Records. It has since gone out of print again, but that is all set to change.
“Dolphin Music Group are proud to announce the 2026 reissue of Jimmy MacCarthy’s acclaimed debut album from 1991, The Song of the Singing Horseman.
Featuring classics including Ride On, No Frontiers, Mystic Lipstick, Missing You and The Bright Blue Rose, the album returns on CD and limited-edition white vinyl. The vinyl edition also includes personal notes from Jimmy.
To celebrate, Jimmy will perform two nights at Dublin’s National Concert Hall and two nights at Cork Opera House.
A landmark collection of Irish songwriting—ready to resonate with a new generation.”
All of Jimmy MacCarthy’s shows at Cork Opera House and the first date at Dublin’s National Concert Hall have sold out, but there is still 50 tickets remaining for the latter on the second date held on October 22nd.
The yellow balcony as well as the red and green side balconies and choir balcony have completely sold out.
A quick look at the booking page only shows two seats left available in the stalls.
These tickets are priced at €49.50 and €42.50 for full price and €38.25 and €44.55 with third level student, senior citizen and unwaged discounts.
A limited number of tickets are also available for the National Concert Hall date on October 22nd with low availability marked for the stalls, and yellow and red balconies although availability for the choir balcony behind the stage is still excellent.
This concert, along with the earlier National Concert Hall show and the two Cork Opera House gigs (all of which have sold out) coincide with the upcoming re-release of Jimmy MacCarthy’s debut album ‘The Song of the Singing Horseman’, which will have vocals re-recorded for two tracks ‘No Frontiers’ and ‘Bright Blue Rose’ with the original engineer Brian Masterson.
