Teconnaught to Tennessee for singer Caitriona

Teconnaught to Tennessee for singer Caitriona

29 June 2022

TECONNAUGHT singer Caitriona Kirwan has just released a new single with her husband Colm, who together form the act, Kirwan, just as the 26-year-old singer prepares to have their first child.

The singer-songwriter, who has opened for Van Morrison in Dublin in the past as “Triona”, has released the new single “Cool” with Colm, who also hails from Northern Ireland.

Colm (39), from Omagh, Co Tyrone, is the son of country star Dominic Kirwan, whom he has performed with in the past, alongside his brother, Barry. He has been in America for over a decade.

The expectant couple, who met at the Irish bar McNamara’s in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2017, have just released the single ahead of their first album, as the couple enter another exciting milestone – becoming parents, with their first child being a few days past its due date. 

The pair first collaborated in 2018 when they co-wrote their first song together.

They returned home to Northern Ireland just before the pandemic started, to get married in Holy Family Church, Teconnaught, and that’s when the band really came about.

“Covid pretty much shut down all things music for us individually,” Caitriona said. 

“It was a good time to re-evaluate life and our solo careers and to see what the future might hold. It was during this time we decided to join forces and to officially become a duo.”

The couple’s direction changed dramatically for a period though while back at home, when they both took up jobs in Dunnes Stores in Tyrone, a move Colm was happy to make because his grandmother sadly died around the time.

“We stayed at home until the end of October. We had a year’s worth of shows cancelled so for about three or four months I was working as a cleaner in Dunnes Stores in Omagh. I actually quite enjoyed it, which surprised me.

“When the opportunity came to get a job, I took it even though it meant cleaning toilets but I had to pay the bills.

“It was the longest amount of time I had spent in Ireland in 10 years and things had changed greatly during that time, but it was still surprisingly healing where I was back reliving childhood memories.

“My grandmother passed away and, in hindsight, we wouldn’t have been able to get back for her funeral had we been still living in America.”

Colm added: “We moved back to Nashville in October 2020 and, some months later, with the help of friends, family and, of course our fans, we raised money via a successful Kickstarter campaign to make an album with our producer Matt Johnson. 

“We loved Matt’s vibe, his heart and vision for our record, and since we had co-written so many songs together he felt like the right fit for Caitriona’s and my new sound. The whole process has been so much fun.”  

Describing their sound as “modern pop country” with their songs detailing love, faith, and hope, Colm said it is a marriage of both their styles. 

Caitriona said their first collaboration was “hard to explain” but that like “every one since, we just connected as artists and writers… it’s like it was easier than normal together, we worked well as a team. You could say it felt meant to be.”

The new single is the first of an album which is still in the mixing stage but which should be out before too long.

The couple’s inaugural record, as yet unnamed, is taking a back seat for the moment as they prepare to welcome and name their first born child – literally any day now, as the new arrival is 11 days overdue.