Music with Eddie Rowley

HE’S celebrating 30 years in country music, and Mick Flavin remembers that it was Daniel O’Donnell who gave him a leg up the ladder at the start of his career.

Daniel had become a sensation in Irish country music at that period in the 1980s, breathing new life into the scene and inspiring other singers to give it a go.

Flavin ( above), who was working as a carpenter with Longford County Council, decided to record and release his first album, My Kind Of Country And Irish.

“One night, when Daniel was performing in Longford at the Park House Hotel in Edgeworthstown, I went along to meet him,” Flavin recalls.

“I told him about my album and how I was hoping to make a career in music. I also asked him if he would do a message on to a tape recorder that I had with me.

“He recorded the message which said: ‘This is Daniel O’Donnell and I’d like to tell you about a new cassette that my friend Mick Flavin has out. It’s called My Kind Of Country and Irish... and it’s going to be your kind of country and Irish too.’

“I got copies of that made and brought them around to all the pirate radio stations at the time. And that was the start of my career.” Flavin is now marking his journey in country music with the release of a new live DVD/ CD called 30 Years Travelin’ To Flavin. The CD features songs from the popular entertainer’s live show, including ‘It’ ll Be Me’, ‘Choices’ and ‘Someday You’ll Love Me’.

Fans of Flavin will also enjoy the DVD, which has a varied selection of videos that the man with the authentic country voice shot on location, including ‘Old Log Cabin’, ‘Back Home To Mayo’ and ‘Never Too Old’.