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05 Sept 2025

WATCH: Tipperary songwriter's Raise Me Up in spectacular closing ceremony at Paralympics

Tipperary songwriter and composer Brendan Graham's classic You Raise Me Up was featured at the closing ceremony for the Winter Paralympics in Beijing.

Brendan, from Nenagh, also had the song featured in last year's global EXPO in Dubai.

"It’s one of the most widely-recorded songs of the 21st century. Its gentle melody and inspirational words have struck a chord in people’s hearts around the world.

"Performed in sign language by hearing-impaired dancers and sung by blind musician Jiang Can, the song is the perfect finale to the Winter Paralympics, an occasion when human beings have once again demonstrated their indomitable will when confronted with adversity," said China’s Global Television Network of the work.

You​ Raise Me Up was originally released in 2002 by the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret​ Garden, written by the band’s Rolf​ Løvland with lyrics by Brendan​. A year later, Josh​ Groban’s version climbed to the Number 1 spot on the Billboard adult contemporary chart followed by Westlife​’s UK Number 1 and Record of the Year cementing the song’s status as a modern classic.

It’s since become a hit many times over around the world, covered by more than a 1,500 hundred artists in over 40 languages.

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