TV: West Cork singer is a star on rise

A rising country music star from Cork features in a week-long series of Nationwide programmes next week dedicated to the popular genre.

Effie Neill, 23, has had more than a decade of experience in live performances, and in the edition of Nationwide on RTÉ1 on Monday at 7pm, reporter Colm Flynn visits her in the quiet village of Ardgroom in West Cork where she lives, on the stunning Beara Peninsula.

Also in the episode, reporter Tommy Stenson heads to Donegal to meet country music fans, dancers, performers, and a young man named David James, who is quickly becoming a well-known name on the country music circuit.

There is a Cork connection in the next episode of Nationwide dedicated to country music, on RTÉ1 at 7pm on Wednesday.

For 16 years, Cork man Hugh O’Brien has been celebrating his love for country music with a TV show called Hot Country TV.

Europe’s longest-running country music TV show, it can be found on the Sky platform, and Hugh, from Silverheights Avenue, Cork, calls it “one of a kind”.

Nationwide presenter Colm Flynn travels to Cork to see how Hugh produces his long-running show, which supports emerging Irish talent by giving them a platform.

Colm also meets some of the many country music fans who gathered to attend a country awards night in Cavan. The Hot Country TV Music Awards sees some of the genre’s best-known performers take to the stage, and Colm goes behind the scenes to meet the team bringing the show to life, including Hugh.

In the final episode of Nationwide on RTÉ1 on Friday at 7pm, we meet two stalwarts of the Irish country music scene, including singer Brendan Shine, who goes down memory lane to reflect on his long and successful career which has spanned more than 50 years.

Brendan has been a familiar and much-loved voice in Irish country music.

With more than 50 albums and 45 hit singles to his name, he remains as busy as ever, performing for audiences around the country. Reporter Tommy Stenson visits Brendan in Athlone.