Derek Ryan has lost count of all his songs

Derek Ryan says he’s written, or co-written, “hundreds of songs” over the years, but they are so numerous that he has lost count of the number he has penned.

“People often ask me how many songs I’ve written but all I can answer is that it must be hundreds and I’ve never checked to be honest.

“While I’ve written some for other artists most of them are for myself and I’m working on my 15th studio album which will be released soon. I’ve also done a few live albums as well, so it’s a lot of writing,” laughs Derek.

Those “hundreds” include Just the Way I Am with The Tumbling Paddies, his own biggest hit Hold On to Your Hat recorded with Sharon Shannon and his current hit Forever to Go. It’s about a husband and wife who love dancing and have followed him faithfully since he started out 15 years ago.

It’s a sentimental, but very homely and sincere song, about the couple Margaret and Noel McCooey, and Derek also asked them for permission to film a video for it in their home near Castleblayney.

A song that reflects his fans

“It’s been on my mind for a while to write this sort of song as the McCooeys were followers of mine from my first live gigs and as we often talked after dances. I asked them if it was ok to write a song about them, which could reflect so many of my fans, and if possible, record the video in their home.

“They were a bit shy at first but eventually said ‘we won’t let you down’ and it was lovely to have them for the filming too which really suited the story of the song,” he mused.

Derek added that while he is delighted to have lots of loyal fans like the McCooeys, he is equally pleased to have so many newer fans also coming to his dances and concerts.

“I’ve always loved writing songs that can be relevant to people of all ages. But I’m also conscious about wanting to create my own style and a sound which comes from my roots in both Trad and Irish Country music.

“Hold on to Your Hat with Sharon Shannon, Down on Your Uppers, The Cows on The Hill and others have appealed to lots of listeners, concert goers and dancers of all ages. Co-writing Just the Way I Am with Gareth Maguire of The Tumblin’ Paddies and doing the hat song with Sharon has been good to me too.”

Sharon Shannon

When asked how did his collaboration with ace accordionist Sharon Shannon come about, Derek says it happened at a gig in Galway.

“I did a show with Sharon for TG4 in Monroe’s Tavern in Galway and even though I had the song pretty much ready for recording at the time I took a chance in asking Sharon if she would consider joining me on it.

“It was the first time ever that we met but when she listened to it Sharon immediately agreed to come on the recording. The minute she added her accordion to it, and as soon as I heard that opening riff, was absolute magic and my feelings were that with her on board it would be a hit,” gushed Derek.

Derek and Sharon filmed the video for the song in Clare and Hold on to Your Hat took off, (the song but not Sharon’s hat!) and the rest is Irish music history.

“We got on The Late Late Show the week after its release, and she joined me on stage in The Olympia Theatre in Dublin. Suddenly that year of 2014 was a magic one for me. That song really took me up that extra step in the entertainment ladder and it’s become my biggest song on Spotify and YouTube.

“It was a dream really for me as I had been listening to Sharon since I was a child. All of us in the Ryan household were big fans of Sharon and it was a bit surreal to eventually have my biggest hit with her,” he added.

Other collaborations

Another huge hit for Derek, which he co-wrote and produced with The Tumbling Paddies - Just The Way I Am - has recently amassed 20 million streams on Spotify. He also co-wrote another hit for them It’s Closing Time.

Having his songs recorded by young acts such as The Tumbling Paddies, and more recently with Jack Keogh, helps take Derek’s music to a new young audience.

“Collaborations are great, but while I like working with new artists, the other singer must also be suited for the song. If so, those singers take the songs to new audiences, and it works both ways really. Plough On Paddy is flying it for Jack Keogh right now and for myself as well. So, it’s worked great for both of us and for Gerry Carney who was involved in writing it and on the video.

“I like to be hands-on in everything that I do right down to having an input into the design of the album covers and to even directing some of my own ideas into the videos,” he laughed.

Hence his idea for reflecting the lives of two of his many faithful fans, The McCooey’s, in his current video for Forever to Go.

Intimate concert venues

Never one to rest on his own laurels Derek is always trying out new ideas and his latest, a short series of intimate acoustic concerts in small theatres, titled The Songwriter, has worked out well and he has more planned for the future.

“It’s all originals and I talk about each song and how it was created. The response has been so amazing that those are among the most satisfying gigs I’ve done in my career, and we will do some more of them in the future. But of course, those will be alongside the dances, festivals and major concerts as well,” he concluded.