Damien Dempsey: Irish singer and songwriter

His music mixes traditional Irish folk with contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentary on Irish society. He sings in his native, working-class accent in English, and to a lesser extent in Irish. Dempsey was born and raised in Donaghmede, a Northside suburb of Dublin.

His earliest musical influences came from post-pub musical sessions held in his parents' house when he was a toddler, which developed into a love of artists such as Christy Moore, Luke Kelly, Shane MacGowan, Bob Marley and Elvis Presley. He entered the 2FM Song Contest and came second with "Cardboard City", his own song about homelessness. Growing up on the northside of Dublin, he trained with his older brothers and competed for Dublin as an amateur boxer before committing himself to studying music.

He attended secondary school at Mount Temple Comprehensive School and then Ballyfermot College of Further Education, the "Rock School", for two years before graduating in 1995, where he studied musical performance and management. His first EP, The Contender, was released in 1995 on the school's record label. His first commercial single, "Dublin Town", was released in 1997 and reached number 18 on the Irish music charts.

His first full-length album, They Don't Teach This Shit in School, was released in 2000 and contained a re-recorded version of that song. His second full-length album, Seize the Day, was released in May 2003 in Ireland on Clear Records via Sony and entered the charts in its first week at No. 5; it has since achieved double-platinum sales. His third album, Shots, released simultaneously in Ireland and the UK in March 2005, entered the Irish album charts at No. 1.

He has worked with other artists including Eddie Sherlock, Sinéad O'Connor and Brian Eno. Sinéad O'Connor invited him on tour with her, and his 2002 Negative Vibes EP featured her on the title track, leading to an invitation to support her on her 2002/2003 Irish, UK and European tour.

In 2004 he toured extensively, headlining his own shows and supporting Bob Dylan during the Irish leg of his European tour, and made his debut appearances at The (London) Fleadh and Womad. Morrissey invited him to support him at the Meltdown festival and on various UK and Irish dates as well as his autumn 2004 US tour, and signed him to his label, Attack.