Brendan McCahey
 | Parts of this article (those related to Career) need to be updated. The reason given is: Last 8 years not covered. (June 2026) |
Brendan McCahey | |
|---|---|
 McCahey in 2014 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 1976 (age 49–50) Magheracloone, County Monaghan, Ireland |
| Origin | Shercock, County Cavan, Ireland |
| Genres | Pop, Rock, Indie |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, musician, arranger, producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, synthesizer, mandolin, |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Label | Universal |
| Website | www.brendanmccahey.com |
Brendan McCahey is an Irish singer-songwriter and recording artist, who won the third series of The Voice of Ireland.
Career
[edit]McCahey worked in a vintage guitar store. He had written and produced material prior to his appearance on The Voice of Ireland. In April 2014, he was crowned winner of series 3 of the talent competition The Voice of Ireland.[1] He was mentored by former Blizzards frontman Bressie. He became the bookies' favourite to win top prize after receiving a score of 28 out of 30 from coaches Kian Egan, Dolores O'Riordan and Jamelia.
Following his victory, he released his debut single "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover", originally sung by Bo Diddley. He released his debut solo album To Where I Begin on 14 November 2014, following its lead single Sweet Love, and toured. He promoted the song by performing on The Late Late Show on 31 October 2014, its release date. The album's second single Safe and Well was released on 10 April 2015. The song was promoted with a performance on The Voice of Ireland on 12 April 2015.
Brendan began work on his second studio album in early 2015, working with songwriters such as Don Mescall. Throughout 2015 he released numerous original songs to his SoundCloud account to coincide with his gigs in the UK & Ireland. However, a follow-up album to To Where I Begin was not officially released.
McCahey announced on 24 May 2016 via Instagram that a new EP titled Too Tight would be released towards the end of June. To coincide with this announcement, a demo of a song titled Guide You Through was released to his SoundCloud account. McCahey also announced that he would upload even more songs to iTunes that year. After much delay, the EP was released in June 2017.
McCahey gigs as a solo artist and, from time to time, as part of his country group, The Goodgollys. He also continues to upload cover versions of his favourite songs to his SoundCloud account, while still creating original music in the background.
It was announced in January 2018 that McCahey was in the running to represent Ireland in the 2018 European Song Contest, competing against past winners Pat Byrne and Keith Hanley.
He currently resides in Shercock, County Cavan, and is married with children.
Performances on The Voice of Ireland
[edit]| Show | Song choice | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Blind Auditions | Starman | Joined Team Bressie |
| The Battle Round | Everytime You Go Away (Vs. Roel Villones) | Sent through to the live shows by Bressie |
| Live Show 1 | You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover | Safe |
| Live Show 3 | She's a Mystery to Me | Safe |
| Quarter-Final | For Once in My Life | Safe |
| Semi-final | Stay With Me | Through to Final |
| Final | You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover | Winner |
Discography
[edit]Singles
[edit]| Year | Title | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| IRL | ||
| 2014 | "You Can't Judge a Book by the Cover" | 15 |
| 2014 | "Sweet Love" | 90 |
| 2015 | "Safe And Well" | — |
| Year | Album title | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| IRE | ||
| 2014 | To Where I Begin
|
20 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Brendan McCahey wins Voice of Ireland". RTÉ News. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.