Brendan Farrell is a singer/songwriter/author from the west coast of Ireland.
Born in Bolton, England, in 1974, Brendan spent his childhood years growing up in the picturesque seaside fishing village of Killala, in Ireland’s Co. Mayo.
The son of a returned immigrant Father, and an Irish descendant Mother, Brendan’s interest in Folk and Ballad music began at a very young age. The Farrell household was one which was alive with sounds of The Dubliners, The Clancy brothers, Tommy Maken, The Furey Brothers, Davey Arthur and many more.
As a child and young teenager, Brendan spent many hours listening to the large collection of 33’s and 45’s that been amassed by his parents. Included in the collection were many Folk influences from America, Scotland, England and Australia. These song’s still frame and inspire Brendan’s writing and performing.
Brendan came to the instrumental table at a relatively late stage, buying his first guitar when he was 25 years of age. Having already performed in a number of Rock and Indie groups as a singer at the end of the last century, Brendan then formed a folk and ballad group, The Sam Maguires, along with his father Eugene and their friend Jimmy O’Donnell in 2002. With a threesome of Guitar, Banjo and Mandolin, He honed his unique Ballad singing style whilst playing at small parties and in public house sessions throughout the early 2000’s.
Brendan’s first attempt at writing a Folk and Ballad song, ‘Nowhere Else’, was created to help him master some of his first guitar chords, and it still features in his live performances today. It is estimated that Brendan has, to date, penned somewhere in the region of 500+ original songs, and he continues to generate at least one new song each week.