Padraig MacMahon – Care

On Tuesday, amidst my fleeting flying visit to Dublin, I took in an instalment of the popular ‘Ruby Sessions‘ above Doyles! This is an accoustic night which happens every Tuesday- it’s a musical institution at this stage. This intimate night has been running near on 20 years now (Founded in April 1999), unbelievable really to think that it’s founders Niall Muckian and Conor Donovan are still hard at it. The Ruby Sessions, not only inspires young upcoming musicians, it also has raised thousands of euro for charity – hats are tipped kind sirs.

An unassuming 18 year old from Baltinglass, Co.Wicklow, opened proceedings this week – he goes simply by his name of Padraig MacMahon – no frills or fancy dance stuff there. The same can be said for his music – this fella was armed only with a guitar and his deep crisp voice to which he held the eager crowd down with a display of his vocal range that left everyone hush and content. MacMahon just oozes professionalism and it’s baffling to think he is only a newbie and still a youngster – this lad has the stage presence of someone who has been at it for decades.

There is something unique about the quivering vulnerability in his notes and he holds a quite distinct deep tone which sounds quite fresh at times. I have no doubt that he’ll surely be swept up by one of the labels soon (if not already) and his voice will be marketed to the more mainstream audience (I’m guessing) – for me I love the almost ‘Glen Hansard-ish ruggedness he posesses and hope to hear more like his Spotify release ‘Care‘. It is an honest, emotive and stripped back tune – MacMahon is just a man with his emotions laying bare for all to view!

One hell of a songwriter, he holds the emotional persona of a man who has seen it all – ‘Care‘ is great, not many will disagree. This is a potentially massive Irish talent. Ballsy!