Biography

Sean O’Farrell is a native of Ashbourne, County Meath where he still resides with his young family.

Growing up in a household where music was a backdrop to life Sean found himself in his first band at the age of 11. Playing drums in the group & performing on the local circuit at weddings & dances Sean was asked to sing one evening when the regular singer was ill. The bug bit that evening & Sean began a lifelong love affair with singing that continues to this day. Whilst studying at college music continued to be such a factor in Sean’s life that not long after graduation he was approached by a then lesser known band manager called Louis Walsh to see if he might be interested in making a career of his music.

Sean recorded his first single in the mid 1990’s – a song called “Billy Can’t Read”. To his great surprise the song entered the Irish pop charts at number 11 & stayed in the top 20 for 15 weeks. A band was formed & Sean did some touring at home in Ireland to promote the single & it was during this period that he became friends with another Irish performer – a young man called Daniel O’Donnell. The two remain the best of friends today.

A record deal in the UK followed shortly thereafter as did tours with the great Tammy Wynette & one of Sean’s heroes Don Williams. This exposure led to Sean being frequently playlisted on BBC 2 Radio & before long life became a constant round of touring all over the UK. To a lesser degree there was also some touring in Ireland.
Sean had been dating his then girlfriend Paula since before turning professional, & being away from home so frequently was the only element of the music business that he did not enjoy. The pair decided to wed in 1997 & the extended lengths of touring away from Ireland led Sean to the extremely difficult decision to step back from his music in order to be at home with his new wife. As often happens, months become years & with the arrival of three beautiful children Sean & Paula found life full of wonderful God given blessings.

Each year Daniel asked Sean to perform at the annual Kincasslagh Festival in his native Donegal & it was here one afternoon right after one of these performances that Paula, upon seeing how much Sean enjoyed the show & how the audience reacted convinced him to become involved with his music once again – if only for himself. Daniel was recording an album of co-written songs & asked Sean if he would like to write some tracks with him. It was during this project that Daniel convinced him that he should also do some recording. This turned out to be Sean’s first studio album in many years “Life Is A Teacher”, & Daniel invited Sean out on tour with him to promote it.
Once again people’s reaction to Sean was wonderfully warm & when given the opportunity to do some solo concerts he didn’t have to be asked twice!! Since the Spring of 2008 Sean has done two short concert tours each year in the UK.  When asked how he felt being back involved with his music after his extended sabbatical he is simply quoted as saying...” It’s wonderful to think that so many people are still interested in listening... I’m not 22 anymore you know!!”...

That’s the story so far & if you would like to be part of the journey from here we would be delighted with your company...