Padraig Jack (O Flaithearta) was born into a musical family from the Aran islands. His dad is the songwriter
Barry Ronan and he is the nephew of the Irish poet and Aosdána member Mary O’Malley. A native of Aran
which has produced writers Liam O Flaithearta, Máirtín Ó Direáin and Breandán Ó hEithir, Padraig is
proudly bilingual both as a conversationalist and a songwriter. These Shores features ten tracks in Irish and
English further demonstrating his singular bilingual poetic and musical sensibilities.
Barry Ronan and he is the nephew of the Irish poet and Aosdána member Mary O’Malley. A native of Aran
which has produced writers Liam O Flaithearta, Máirtín Ó Direáin and Breandán Ó hEithir, Padraig is
proudly bilingual both as a conversationalist and a songwriter. These Shores features ten tracks in Irish and
English further demonstrating his singular bilingual poetic and musical sensibilities.
In the titular track, Padraig blends Irish Gaelic and English together which asserts a proud feeling of
Irishness celebrating the Celtic ‘culture of our own’ that has been ‘strewn afar’ around the world and the
distinguished position that Ireland now holds in the world after centuries of rebelling against its colonial
rulers. ‘Lovely Stare’ and ‘Little’ are both love songs, while ‘Father To Son’ is a country-rock anthem
featuring numerous members of Padraig Jack’s family. ‘Long Street’ is a feel-good song about looking at
the bright side of life and realising that if you’re moving in the right direction at all then you should try to
take enjoyment from the journey.
Irishness celebrating the Celtic ‘culture of our own’ that has been ‘strewn afar’ around the world and the
distinguished position that Ireland now holds in the world after centuries of rebelling against its colonial
rulers. ‘Lovely Stare’ and ‘Little’ are both love songs, while ‘Father To Son’ is a country-rock anthem
featuring numerous members of Padraig Jack’s family. ‘Long Street’ is a feel-good song about looking at
the bright side of life and realising that if you’re moving in the right direction at all then you should try to
take enjoyment from the journey.
These Shores has contributions from family and friends as well as some Irish music legends. Padraig has
included a song penned by his dad Barry Ronan, and siblings Cathal and Aisling, uncle Seamus and cousin
Ronan also provide musical input. Padraig has collaborated with his neighbours, and former winners of The
All-Ireland Talent Show, The Mulkerrin Brothers who lend their voices to the track ‘Oíche Gheal’, while
Connemara singer Gráinne Ní Mháille sings harmony on Irish language track ‘Díolta go hIfreann’, a song
about the Covid lockdown.
included a song penned by his dad Barry Ronan, and siblings Cathal and Aisling, uncle Seamus and cousin
Ronan also provide musical input. Padraig has collaborated with his neighbours, and former winners of The
All-Ireland Talent Show, The Mulkerrin Brothers who lend their voices to the track ‘Oíche Gheal’, while
Connemara singer Gráinne Ní Mháille sings harmony on Irish language track ‘Díolta go hIfreann’, a song
about the Covid lockdown.
Padraig teams up with legendary producer John Reynolds (Sinead O’Connor, Brian Eno, Belinda Carlisle) for the second time. These Shores also features two former members of The Waterboys: Anthony Thistlethwaite’s mandolin and saxophone play on numerous tracks, as well as Steve Wickham’s fiddle on ‘Little’ and ‘Long Street’.