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I've been asked why does Ireland produce so many great musicians, and the answer is it doesn't. When you count the great musicians Ireland has given the world in the last 20 years, you can do it on one hand.

A lot of Irish people perform. They perform in drawing rooms. They sing songs and they play piano.

I think Paul McGuinness and U2 created the Irish music industry. It certainly wasn't there before that.

In Ireland, it's been like U2 and The Cranberries, which is rock, but you know they're Irish.

Growing up, I was brought up around Irish music, Irish traditions.

Irish people are educated not only about artistry but local history.

I've only been to Ireland once, and I felt I would wake up with voices in my head, almost like music, and that if I were a songwriter, I would be very inspired.

I have been interested in Irish traditional music for the past few years.

Ireland and America, music-wise, are very closely related. The Irish came over with their fiddles in hand, and you can hear it in the bluegrass and rockabilly. I love it when music from different countries combine.

The Ireland I now inhabit is one that these Irish contemporaries have helped to imagine.