Singer-songwriter Padraig Jack releases his stunning single ‘Making Sand’ on 13th May, the titular song of his album released last year. Celebrating the Aran Islands with lyrics in both Irish and English, and haunting whistle melodies, ‘Making Sand’ is a metaphor for the passing of time and attempts to capture a sense of the awesome historical and cultural importance of the islands while acknowledging that the inhabitants are ‘just making sand out here’ and only passing through.

The accompanying video, shot in black and white on the Islands on one weekend last summer, was filmed and produced by Aisling Ní Fhlaithearta and Martin Hartnett. A beautifully atmospheric video, it intersperses portraits of Islanders from children to seniors, with familiar island sights like creels, dry stone walls, and wild rugged landscapes.

To celebrate the song and the album, Padraig Jack will be playing ‘Making Sand: The Show’ in Aran on Monday’s and will play two shows on Tuesday’s a matinee and evening show in July and August beginning on Monday 4th of July in the famous Joe Watty’s bar in Kilronan on Inis Mór.

A native of the Islands himself, Padraig Jack is from a musical family. His dad is bilingual songwriter Barry Ronan and he is the nephew of the Irish poet and Aosdána member Mary O’Malley. Like his father, Padraig is proudly bilingual and writes music in both Irish and English. With influences ranging from James Taylor and The Eagles to Van Morrison and Shane McGowan, Padraig appreciates strong songwriting with a distinct point of view.

2022 has been a busy year for Padraig. He joined Dubliner Damien Dempsey on a sold-out tour of Ireland including shows in Cyprus Avenue, Róisín Dubh, Dolan’s, The Set Theatre and TF Royal as well as Vicar St. last October. He also wrote and recorded a song for the legendary Foster and Allen, and performed it with the duo for a recording in the Pepper Canister Church in March 2022. This concert is due to be broadcast on RTÉ One in autumn 2022.

The rest of the year continues in the same vein. In addition to his gigs on the Aran Islands, he is gigging throughout May and June in Ireland, and then continues with a solo tour of Wales in the last days of June.

With plaudits from industry legends like Mike Scott, Sharon Shannon and Miles Hunt, and laudatory reviews from the likes of Hot Press, Padraig Jack is sure to be a legend in the making.