Jimmy McCarthy

James MacCarthy was born in 1953 in Macroom, County Cork. He left school at 15 and became a stable boy at Vincent O'Brien's stables in Ballydoyle, but after five years he started to make a living by singing in pubs and opening gigs for other artists.

Now he is best known as a songwriter. Composing since the late 1970s,  his songs have been recorded by many including Christy Moore,  Mary Black,  Finbar Wright,  Maura O'Connell, The Corrs and Westlife.