Cork balladeer Roy Buckley: breaking the American market

Roy Buckley, onstage at Cork Opera House.

Cork singer/songwriter, Roy Buckley, has been described by Phil Coulter as "the last of the great balladeers." The thirty-three year old singer from Ballyvolane, whose recently released single reached No. 2 in the iTunes charts in Ireland, is proud of the accolade. His new single, The Old Man on Patrick Street, was inspired by a homeless man that Buckley used to see around town.

Over fifteen years ago, Buckley was working at a summer job as a labourer when Patrick Street was being renovated. "I was labouring with my brother, Dean, on the site. We'd go to Bishop Lucey Park for our lunch break. There was this old man who used to come into the park, wearing raggedy clothes with holes in his shoes. He used to drink from the fountain in the park. That's wrong. You see homeless guys like him in doorways. I didn't want to write my song about any one person. So I made it universal."