Sandy Kelly is one of Ireland’s most successful singers. Her awards and achievements include representing Ireland in the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, winning the European Gold Star Award for country music in 1984 and represented Ireland twice at the CMA International Fan Fair in Nashville in 1985 and 1989. 

Her personal career highlights are recording ‘Woodcarver’ with Johnny Cash, which achieved Gold record status and receiving a Gold record for her version of the Willie Nelson song ‘Crazy’ in 1989. Sandy subsequently recorded and toured with a host of legendary U.S. country artists including Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Glen Campbell, Tammy Wynette, George Hamilton IV and Chet Atkins.

Through her prime-time TV series, Sandy, on RTÉ, she got to meet and duet with many of her musical heroes, from Irish stars like Ronnie Drew, Big Tom, Dolores Keane and a host of international names such as Charley Pride, Emmylou Harris, Demis Roussos and Leo Sayer. 

But the music industry can be a tough place. Sandy has dealt with prejudice and financial pressures. Alongside the glamour of show business, she has experienced the heartaches of divorce, family illness, the loss of loved ones and faced the challenges of raising a daughter with special needs. Throughout all this, Sandy has stood strong in the heart of Ireland’s music scene for over four decades. 

Here, for the first time, she recounts the highs – and lows – of a lifetime in music. In the company of another Sligo household name, Tommie Gorman, famed for his legendary interviews.