Tipperary country music star set to appear on long-running TG4 show

Dee Morrissey may come from a family steeped in music for generations, but she is ploughing her own furrow, driven by a determination to just “be myself”.

Dee, from Bansha, south Tipperary, is getting ready to take the next step in her Country Music career when she appears on TG4’s long-running, hit show, Glór Tíre, on Tuesday, February 17, at 9:30pm.

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“I've watched this show for 20-something years now,” she says, “so to actually be here is just incredible. I never thought in a million years I would take part in Glór Tíre.”

Yet, for Dee, being on the show feels like a welcome case of ‘right place, right time’, and at a moment when her singing career is beginning to hit a stride.

“Covid actually got me back into singing and performing again,” she reveals.

“I'd stopped for a long time before that. Life took over. During Covid I had a lot of time on my hands, so I started singing songs at home in my bedroom and putting them up on Facebook. To my surprise, people liked them.

“Once Covid was over, I got myself a set of gear and off out I went, up and down the countryside, singing my Country songs. I’ve started releasing singles on the radio. So, being picked to go on Glór Tíre, I feel the time is right for me.”

Dee is one of eight competitors on the show, each vying for the coveted title of Ireland’s Glór Tíre Country Music Champion 2026.

Contestants will also be mentored by a leading figure in Irish Country, with Patrick Feeney guiding Dee.

“I'm so excited,” she says.

“He's so fantastic and his voice is incredible. I got such a shock when I was told I would be his contestant.”

On Glór Tíre, Dee will perform a duet with Patrick, ‘Walking On The Waves’, originally by Scottish band Skipinnish, and it is another case of everything feeling serendipitous.

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“Driving up from Tipperary to Connemara for the show, we were going along the coast, and we could see all the waves,” she says.

“The waves looked very angry, but the song is about walking on those very waves, and it all just feels right.”

For her solo song, Dee will perform Merle Haggard’s ‘Lucky Old Colorado’.

“It’s about heartbreak over somebody that you loved, and you want back, but they're gone,” she says.

“Isn't that the basis of every good Country song?”

Also appearing on the show is Co Tyrone singer, Ryan Lynch. Glór Tíre is presented by Aoife Ní Thuairisg and produced by Galway-based company, Gael Media.

Jó Ní Chéide and Caitriona Ní Shuilleabháin return as resident judges.

The guest judge will be legendary singer, Brendan Shine.

For more information see www.tg4.ie and follow @glortire on social media for all of the latest news and updates.