Performing a great song is like performing a great balancing act. Of course, what needs to be balanced depends on the demands of the song.

In the case of Shepherd’s Delight, 19-year-old singer-songwriter Rua Rì burdens the task of expressing his Irish identity.

To my ears at least, an Irish accent too often sounds like a deranged leprechaun farmer when sung to a chorus of pop music. Yet Rua Rì manages to be ever consistent in subtly delivering what it is that makes me proud to be Irish.

It’s hard to put a finger on it; I can only theorise and say it is something you feel as opposed to something you can measure. One thing I can concretely say is that the future is a bright ginger haircut for this impossibly young, Cobh-born act.

Get on the bandwagon now, before he is famous and charges you loads.

— Stephen Cool