Ballingarry singer-songwriter Nathan Maher is ready for the big stage and moment

Speaking to Nathan Maher, it is clear he has not arrived by accident. There is purpose in his voice, urgency in his songs, and a restless momentum to the path his career has taken.

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“From singing in the bedroom to standing on stages I’ve dreamed about for years,” he wrote recently, a line that neatly captures his journey in music thus far. 

This week, the Tipperary Star caught up with the 24 year old Ballingarry singer-songwriter ahead of his two headline shows next month in Cashel and Dublin.

It is remarkable that Nathan has only been pursuing music professionally for a year. In that time, he has released songs that already feel like statements of intent: 

Macroom and Flying Home, written in 2024, and Devil In Disguise, written in 2025, have resonated widely with listeners. 

He has built a rapidly growing audience both nationally and internationally, with more than four million streams on Spotify. These milestones mark Nathan as one of Ireland’s most exciting emerging singer- songwriters.

Nathan traces much of his musical influence back to home. “My music influence would have come from my mother’s side of the family,” he explains.

“My mother plays the guitar, my grandfather plays the accordion, and I have cousins in Britain who have won All-Britains playing the accordion, so we have a lot of music in the family.”

Growing up surrounded by instruments, performances, and a culture of music-making, he says, instilled both a respect for craft and a curiosity to explore different sounds.

When asked who his musical influences are, Nathan states: “Musicians close to me and big influences on me would be Billy Bob O’Dwyer, a Cashel man. 

He’s the person I would have looked up to as a songwriter and as a musician. He wrote songs for Daniel O’Donnell, like Tipperary Girl—he is an absolutely fantastic musician.” 

He also speaks warmly about the legendary Christy Moore: “Christy Moore—you have to love him. Honestly, I don’t think you can be a musician in Ireland without loving Christy.” 

Beyond Ireland, Nathan mentions Cameron Whitcomb, a rising Canadian country singer from Nanaimo, British Columbia, known for his raw, authentic songwriting about personal struggles and life experiences.

 “I’d listen to him too—he’s an absolutely brilliant musician.” These artists, he explains, represent the kind of honesty, craft, and connection to audiences that he admires and aspires to in his own music.

Nathan is refreshingly honest when asked to describe his sound. “I would probably call it folk, but you could also call it rock infused with elements of rap—so it’s almost multi-genre,” he admits.

“I wouldn’t say I have the best singing voice in the world—similar to Shane MacGowan in that I can write a good song, but I wouldn’t necessarily have the voice to sing it. 

But I’d give it a good go anyway,” he laughs, “and I can write a bit of comedy into a song to make people laugh, and I can write a really sad song as well, to make you cry. It varies from song to song—how I’m feeling at the time usually influences what I write.”

Social media has become central to Nathan’s music career, as a platform for connection and inspiration. “I have met a lot of big and famous people. 

I have managers now and promoters—things I’d never thought I’d have just from using social media to push my music,” he says. 

Working with established musicians, such as Cormac Butler of The Coronas, highlighted the real-world opportunities that digital platforms can unlock.

Nathan stresses the importance of TikTok in particular, describing it as “your bread and butter as a musician. If you can’t advertise your songs and you can’t show new people your songs, then you are never going to be a full-time musician. 

TikTok has given me the platform to do it.” From watching his videos, it’s clear why he thrives there: Nathan is a natural showman and comic, with an acute ability to connect with the camera and convey personality, humour, and emotion in equal measure.

Beyond promotion, TikTok has allowed him to build a community of fans who follow him closely, comment on every video, and even connect with him across continents. 

“There’s people out in America who have messaged me, and there’s a person in Belgium whose father passed away. His dad was Irish and he wanted to find some Irish music to remind him of his father, so he started listening to my music and he messaged me,” Nathan explains. 

These interactions are more than flattering—they influence his music and reinforce why he does it. “There’s all these special moments and messages that you get from social media that will influence your music and also make you feel good about making music at the same time,” he reflects.

Nathan is clearly buoyant when talk turns to the upcoming live shows. “I am really excited about the upcoming shows—we have a really good band,” he says. 

“There are three other people playing along with me: Sarah McGrath on banjo, Erik Hehir on drums and Nicky Brewer on double bass. 

They are three fantastic musicians, and we’ve created a sound that I think is entirely unique and unlike anything else out there in the country.” 

Maher will headline Brú Ború Theatre in Cashel on February 13, followed by Whelan’s  in Dublin on February 15, performances that will showcase his original material in its fullest form. He is equally looking forward to the moments after the music stops. 

“I’m really excited to meet all the people who come to the shows afterwards,” he adds. “I know their names from social media, but I’ve never seen them face to face, so it’ll be really nice to finally put faces to names.”

What stays with you after speaking to Nathan Maher is the way he throws himself at life with both arms, unguarded and unembarrassed. 

There is a robust warmth to him, an instinctive generosity of spirit that translates effortlessly from conversation to stage. 

Two years ago, he was entirely unknown beyond his own parish; today he is a rising artist with songs travelling far beyond Tipperary. 

In show business terms, he is the full package: a songwriter with something to say, a performer who knows how to hold a room, and a personality that fills the space between the songs. 

Growth like this rarely happens without luck, but it never happens without nerve. Nathan has both—and the feeling now is not whether he will make his mark, but how far he intends to go.

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