James MacCarthy (born 1953) is an Irish singer-songwriter.
Early life and career (1953–1979) MacCarthy was born in Macroom, County Cork, Ireland, to Ted MacCarthy (died 1998) and Betty MacCarthy (died 2009). He has 11 siblings. For a time, the family had a business distributing newspapers and magazines across Munster.
MacCarthy left school at 15 without qualifications, and became a stable boy at Vincent O'Brien's place in Ballydoyle. After five years between Tipperary and Newmarket, Jimmy returned home to help his father, whose ill health had resulted in the closure of his business. He then made a living out of singing at pubs, and was later busking in the streets of London and doing occasional concerts, opening for other singers' gigs in Ireland.
MacCarthy became a musician from an early age, receiving his first guitar at the age of 7. At 12, he formed a garage band with his brother Dan with whom he played in a Legion of Mary gathering and at a "glorified hamburger joint" called the Shambles. When MacCarthy turned 19, he was performing in his native Cork in bars and folk clubs, including the Pirates Den, Crosshaven.
Southpaw (1979–1980) In the late 1970s, MacCarthy was already an established musician on the Cork rock circuit. Southpaw was MacCarthy's first band of note, which he formed with ex-Horslips guitarist Declan Sinnott, Johnny Campbell, Dave Whyte and Teddie Moynihan. MacCarthy was the band's acoustic guitar player and, together with Sinnott, wrote much of the band's own material. While in Southpaw, MacCarthy performed at venues such as Cork’s Connolly Hall, supporting John Martyn, the Manhattan Bar in Galway, the Festival Dome, the UCC Downtown Kampus, the Blue Shark in Kinsale, The Meeting Place on Dorset Street and some prestigious Dublin residencies.
Becoming a solo performer (1981–1991) Following Southpaw, MacCarthy became a solo performer and, through a deal with Mulligan Records, released two singles of his own in 1981, titled 'Miles of Eyes' and 'Like in the Movies'. MacCarthy stated that being a songwriter was what earned him his place in Southpaw. When Moving Hearts debuted MacCarthy's songs ‘Burning Star’ and ‘Strain of the Dance’ at the Rossnaree Hotel, Drogheda in late 1982 and released the latter on their 1983 album ‘Live Hearts’, it was only the following year that MacCarthy was booked to play a residency in the Cork Metropole, the Anchor Bar, Dunmore East, and Dublin’s National Stadium.
Initially, ‘Strain of the Dance’ was to be MacCarthy’s first single, but, due to its disturbing imagery and in respect to the victims of the Stardust tragedy and their families, he and Seamus O’Neill of Mulligan Records mutually settled on ‘Miles of Eyes’ instead. However, Moving Hearts' success with 'Strain of the Dance' gave MacCarthy the confidence to think of himself as a songwriter.
In the early 1980s, MacCarthy secured a number of support slots for other artists, including Chris de Burgh and Maura O'Connell and, while his debut single 'Miles of Eyes' wasn't a chart success, it received ongoing airplay on Irish radio for five weeks.
In his career, MacCarthy has toured with De Dannan and producers such as Donal Lunny.
Releasing solo albums (1991–2003) From the 1990s until the 2010s, MacCarthy had begun to release full albums, and his solo career was well underway.
While recording his debut album, MacCarthy teamed up with some of Ireland's most acclaimed musicians, including Liam O'Maonlai of the Hothouse Flowers, Bill Whelan, Davy Spillane and Honor Heffernan. The album 'The Song of the Singing Horseman', released in 1991, was commended for its "masterly blend of pop melodies, trad fiddles, Spanish guitars, country-and-western rhythms and chamber-music strings" and received critical acclaim for its rich imagery.
After releasing 'The Song of the Singing Horseman', MacCarthy saw some success as a solo performer of contemporary folk music. With the release of his second album 'The Dreamer' in 1994, MacCarthy wished to create a more universally appealing album that had a more urban feel to it. Coincidentally, when he was living in Wicklow, a chance encounter with his next-door neighbour determined the direction for this album. Prior to the release of 'The Dreamer', MacCarthy was listening to Van Morrison’s ’Avalon Sunset’ while he was driving through the Wicklow mountains. Impressed by the string arrangements, MacCarthy hoped he would be able to work with the musician who worked on those string arrangements on the album. MacCarthy recalled reading the name Fiachra Trench on the album sleeve, only to find that he was the man who had just moved next door to him. MacCarthy and Trench collaborated over the three-year recording of ’The Dreamer’, in ways as casual as talking over one another’s garden fence about song arrangements.
In October 1999, MacCarthy played at the National Concert Hall, Dublin as a special guest with the "fifth Beatle" George Martin, which was a dream for him as a longtime fan of the band. At the concert, MacCarthy performed a cover of the Beatles' song "She's Leaving Home".
In an interview shortly before his 2000 performance at Dublin's HQ, MacCarthy stated that he had converted an old cowshed in his Wicklow home into a studio to record his third album, while also setting up his own label titled 'Ride On Records' with promoter Pat Egan.
MacCarthy's third album, The Moment, which was released in the summer of 2002 featured co-writers on five tracks, including a song written with Graham Lyle (the songwriter of Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do with It?"). More firmly a pop-rock album than his first two recordings, the music on The Moment is predominantly guitar- and keyboard-based.
Return to performing (2008–2015) Between 2003 and 2008, MacCarthy took an extended hiatus from performing. Upon his return to the live scene, he played with a band consisting of Eleanor Healy (bass and vocals) and Martin Leahy (percussion and drums). He also performed solo at venues throughout Ireland. Since he returned to the live scene, MacCarthy performed new songs along with all the classics. In summer 2009, he made his first nationwide tour, doing gigs at venues such as the National Concert Hall, the Cork Opera House and Galway Town Hall.
In addition, MacCarthy has played at smaller venues, including in Kenmare, County Kerry, the town known as "Neidín", in Irish, after which he named his song "As I Leave Behind Neidín". Deryn O'Callaghan, manager of the Carnegie Arts Centre, has said that, after he had commemorated the town in one of his songs, Jimmy MacCarthy would have a warm welcome whenever he played the venue.
Prior to the release of his last album to date, MacCarthy had written over 100 new songs. A new album, Hey-Ho Believe, was released on 25 October 2010 and featured a new producer Donal Lunny. This album included other musicians such as Eoin O'Neill, Anto Drennan and Graham Henderson.
Following the release of Hey-Ho Believe and a short promotional tour, MacCarthy kept a low profile until April 2013, when he was inducted into the Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) Academy and announced further concert dates, including Dublin's Vicar Street. This tour lasted until 2015. MacCarthy has not performed live since then, although he has performed some new songs during performances on live radio. One song titled 'Prophecy/Conspiracy?', co-written with singer-songwriter Rob Burke, was performed on radio interviews. Additionally, a song MacCarthy wrote about his life growing up in Cork 'Roll On The Lee' was released as a charity single for Enable Ireland.
The Electric Horsemen and the Acoustic Horsemen (2026-present)
As of 2026, MacCarthy is set to return to performing. First he was scheduled to play four intimate sold out shows at the White Horse in Ballincollig, Co. Cork on 25 May, 1 June, 8 June and 15 June 2026. This performance included a band, called "The Electric Horsemen", consisting of MacCarthy, Declan Sinnott, Johnny Campbell, Paul Seymour and Brian Calnan.
Following on from this, MacCarthy is due to perform with a new band known as "The Acoustic Horseman" at the Cork Opera House on 1 October and 20 October 2026 and the National Concert Hall in Dublin on 14 October 2026. The Cork Opera House and National Concert Hall shows are due to include performances from Nollaig Casey and string quartet performing arrangements by Casey and Bill Whelan, alongside special guest musicians including Steve Cooney, James Blennerhassett and Paul McAteer.
Songwriting MacCarthy is best known as a songwriter. Composing since the late 1970s, his songs have been recorded by many Irish artists including Christy Moore, Mary Black, Finbar Wright, Maura O'Connell, the Corrs and Westlife. "Ride On", recorded by Christy Moore, is one of his best-known compositions. Moore also recorded MacCarthy's songs "Missing You", "Bright Blue Rose" and "Mystic Lipstick". Mary Black, Maura O'Connell and The Corrs have recorded MacCarthy's "No Frontiers", while Black has also recorded his songs "Katie", "Adam at the Window", "Diamond Days", "As I Leave Behind Neidín", "Shuffle of the Buckled" and "Another Day."* MacCarthy also co-wrote Westlife's "Angel's Wings." This track was meant to be a Christmas single for Westlife during that year but the band chose a different song. MacCarthy believes that if Westlife had released "Angel's Wings" as a single the chances were that it could have become a number one hit and that it would have been nice to have a song at the top of the UK charts.
More recently, MacCarthy's songs have been recorded by newer artists such as the Celtic Tenors, Michelle Lally, Marc Roberts, and Tommy O'Sullivan.
Industry advocacy MacCarthy has, throughout the years, expressed his frustrations with RTÉ for their lack of support for indigenous Irish artists. In particular, MacCarthy remembered the mid 80s to late 90s as a golden age for Irish artists on national radio, and RTÉ's output of local talent declined significantly, mostly just depending on songs from groups like The Corrs, The Cranberries, U2, Boyzone and Westlife that had international success for the 20% local talent they were expected to play. MacCarthy did ultimately make amends with the national broadcaster. He later gave RTE credit for reversing the decline of Irish artists on radio and conceded that the nation would be much poorer without them.
Additionally, in a speech he gave while being inducted to the IMRO Irish Songwriters Academy, MacCarthy discussed how, in recent times, traditional radio and television were being replaced by the internet as the means by which music and information are broadcast and disseminated. Understanding that American multinational corporations such as Google, as the core owners of products like the iPhone and smartphone, had poor track records of protecting author’s rights, MacCarthy requested that those in attendance be aware of the need to continue protecting the rights of songwriters for future generations. In another interview, MacCarthy clarified that he doesn't think technology is inherently the problem, but the way in which the individuals designing it and how it can be taken advantage of are. As MacCarthy was a Director-in-Board since the IMRO's inception. He saw how an institution like that, through the good work of Hugh Duffy, could improve circumstances for Irish composers.
Influences While MacCarthy is often assumed to have come from the folk tradition, he has on several occasions referred to himself as a "child of the radio". Growing up, MacCarthy loved Elvis Presley, Smokey Robinson and especially Dusty Springfield, and he made his first pay covering their songs in pubs. Some of MacCarthy's favourite songs included ‘Adios Amigo’ and ‘Liverpool Lou’ and, through bands like The Supremes and The Animals, he was introduced to electric guitars.