The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Killorglin singer songwriter launches debut CD
‘FRIENDLY Shores’ is the debut album by Killorglin musician Cathal Dowd and it will be launched at Sol y Sombra Restaurant in Killorglin on Thursday, October 19. The album is available on all platforms and Cathal says he has focused on producing an open string guitar style with honest, heartfelt lyrics that combine to create a unique sound.
The independent singer/ songwriter from Tulligmore will be familiar to diners at Nick’s Restaurant where Cathal regularly performed in recent years. He is currently touring Ireland and the UK, doing a series of small concerts to promote the album which is a lifelong ambition for him. And he’s extremely excited about the return home and the opportunity to give people a chance to sample his work.
“Initially I thought about producing an album just as a bucket list idea, but it soon took me over and it felt like something I needed to do more of. Pursuing music is what I want to do and once I committed myself to the album the writing and the songs just seemed to flow. It was actually my New Year’s resolution to complete an album,” Cathal said.
Cathal is writing music for over a decade now but admits many of his close friends only heard his original songs for the first time on Spotify. Cathal’s musical ‘other life’ came as a bit of a shock to people who had been unaware of his ability to write songs and perform, which Cathal says adds to the excitement of it all.
Cathal’s musical influences derive from names such as Paul Simon, Newton Faulkner, John Mayer, Tallest Man on Earth, and Ed Sheeran - influences that are evident in the album.
The whole experience of releasing music online is an ‘enriching one’ for Cathal and he now plans to take a sabbatical from life as an engineering student to pursue a seven-week tour of America’s major musical cities, namely, Seattle grunge, LA pop, New Orleans Jazz, Memphis country, and so on, and he plans to write a song for each city he visits.
“Not many people would have heard me perform before but writing music is the only hobby I’ve ever really had and it’s the culmination of a lot of work, be it consciously or subconsciously, which has led to me releasing this album,” he added.