Conor's Christmas album tops World Music charts

In the footlights this week is singer, X Factor star and Derry City FC superfan, Conor McGinty (28).

It’s the law, any interview with a Derry person has to begin with one question, ‘What [insert name] are you?’ Laughing at the in-joke, a modest Conor obliged.

“My mammy is Maria McGinty (née Meenan) and my daddy is Ciaran McGinty. Mammy would have been from Carrigan’s Lane on Foyle Road and my daddy’s from Iniscarn in Creggan.”

The talented singer has just released a Christmas album called ‘This Christmas’.

Conor singing in St Eugene's Cathedral.

He said: “I just thought, ‘I haven’t done an album now since before covid, so I’ll release a wee christmas one’.

“I worked on it with my producer, Eamon Karran, who has his own studio down in Shantallow in his attic. He did a craicer job on the album I have to say.

“We recorded eight tracks in total, ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘Labour of Love’ as the two singles from it.

“I am over the moon that the album has done really, really well. By the power of social media, it got to Number One in the World Music chart on iTunes and we broke the top 100 mainstream chart as well, reaching number 85. This is a big achievement for an independent artist and I am thrilled.”

Conor’s band when he plays shows or concerts is Eamonn on keyboard, Isabell Caldwell on harp and guitar and Erin Carlin on backing vocals.

“We would also bring in different artists from out of Derry to play violin but currently I am using tracks,” he said.

“We are hoping to put on a ‘Big Night’ in March. Before covid, we would have put on a great show in the City Hotel with, maybe, 500 people at it. We did the Millennium Forum a month later. So, I am planning to do something similar again, maybe around Easter.

“I would love to hold it in St Columb’s Hall because my granny, Madeline Meenan, used to work in there. I did all of my music video shoots in there as well. I did one for ‘Kings of Our Time’, which I released in 2016.

“My granny died five years ago but she would have worked in St Columb’s Hall right through, when it was Fr McLaughlin, doing everything including selling the raffle tickets. She was there for years, so I think, out of nostalgia, I would like to do a ‘Big Night’ in there, now that it is all done up again.”

Conor described his musical genre as Irish / Celtic.

Smiling he said: “But when I gig, obviously you have to do covers, so you have to sing a mix of everything.

“I came to performing late, I suppose, although when I was at Nazareth House Primary School I used to sing in the choir. We would have entered the UTV Choir of the Year competition. I didn’t sing at all through secondary school at St Columb’s College.

“I never had singing lessons either. I was 17 and I was at a wee family get together and I got up and sang and everyone said I was good. Then my daddy entered me into Drive 105’s ‘Drive Factor’ competition, which I won.

“We had to go down to the Drive 105 studio every Friday for knockout rounds and then the big final was in The Everglades hotel. The prize was £5,000 at the time. So I bought my first gigging gear with that and started gigging for a year.”
Conor then entered ITV’s X Factor show in 2016.

He recalled: “I got to the six chair challenge in X Factor, which was the stage before the Judges’ House. After that things began to take off and I got piles of work.

“X Factor was a good experience. It was a good platform and it opened the doors for four or five years after. I performed on the Nolan Show and the Pamela Ballantine Show a few times and I started working with song writers.

“I love song writing. My most recent one was ‘Home to the Heartland’ which is about Derry, emigration, coming back from Boston to Derry. I also wrote a song called ‘Ireland’s Greatest’ for John Hume’s family when he died. That got a fantastic response.

“This year, I am hoping to get a full album of original songs, instead of a cover album. That will, hopefully, be near the end of 2023 or maybe even the start of 2024,” said Conor.

Conor said he thought things were not completely back to normal on the performing scene post covid.

“I think we are getting there but I still know a few people who have stayed in whatever job roles they got into during covid.
But, I was itching to get back performing because it is in me, I think.”

At the start of covid, Conor got a job in caring thanks to the encouragement of Catherine McSheffery.

“I enjoyed that but I just love the buzz of performing, recording, even the marketing side of the business, networking, getting your name out there, all of that. You never know, further down the line, I might go into management.

“I feel as if I have had my big break. I am playing my music and I am with my two children, Dáire and Auráh, and my wife Aisling, every day. I know some musicians who seldom get to be with their families.

“I also have to thank the people of Derry and internationally for supporting me, online buying CDs and downloading the music. At the moment the Christmas album is everywhere, iTunes, spotify and amazon music and people can get the physical CDs through my Facebook page,” smiled Conor, who was looking forward to a busy 2023.