Irish singer reveals how Ed Sheehan once opened for him at packed Boston gig

Sunday World

13 hours ago

Jinty McGrath arrived in the US with a bag and a guitar and says the gift of the gab has kept him busy in the music world.
The moment singer Jinty McGrath belted out the Irish national anthem to a 20,000 strong crowd for a Bruins game in Boston will never leave him.
It was as if all those years learning the guitar had led to this electric feeling of pride and excitement.
The Cork singer, who moved to the USA with just a bag and guitar back in 2014, sang the national anthem in the TD Garden for a Bruins game on St Patrick's Day.
Jinty, who hails from Mayfield in Co Cork, never swayed from following his dreams.
In Boston, Jinty is the houseband in the Dubliner on a Friday and Saturday night and McGonagle's on a Sunday. During the week, he works on his music and plays in Nashville.
'I moved here in 2014 when I was 21. I landed here with a bag and a guitar,' he says.
'I knew I wanted to play music when I got here. I landed on a Saturday, and I headed straight to Paddy Barry's in Quincy.
'There was a singer on stage from Cork, Denis O'Gorman, I met the owner Gerry Hanley, he told me to go up and play with O'Gorman so I did and he gave me a gig the following Friday and then I started to pick up a couple more.
Ed Sheeran
'I was young, there weren't musicians in my age bracket here at the time, they were all older than me. I was doing Ed Sheeran, all the young stuff at the time. I'd have two gigs on a Friday, three on a Saturday and three on a Sunday.
'I was close a couple of times to giving up on my dream but as long as it's alive, this is where I need to be. The gift of the gab gets me by. I'd never move home.
'After a year or two, I got a gig in the Black Rose in Downtown, that was my first time breaking into Downtown, that was huge. That was the hardest gig to get in Boston at the time.
'In 2015, I was lucky enough to get an opening slot at the Dropkick Murphys on St Patrick's Day. Then in 2018, I was asked to sing the national anthem in the TD Garden for a Bruins game in front of 20,000 people on St Patrick's Day.'
Apart from being one of Mayfield's best exports, Jinty has been an ambassador for Ireland with his music and has shared the stage with globally famous singers.
Jinty has shared the stage with global superstar Ed Sheeran
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'This St Patrick's Day, we had Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Ed Sheeran and then me on the line-up. Technically, Ed Sheeran opened for me on St Patrick's Day in Boston,' he added.
'Performing with Ed Sheeran was surreal, I do put down a lot of my success in music through the years [to him], because when I came here Ed Sheeran's first two albums were out, I was singing all that stuff.
'Castle on the Hill was huge here, I was the only person singing it. I put a lot of my success down to playing his songs.
'When he was here, he performed straight for an hour, he absolutely rocked the place. I met him, he was one of the nicest guys. He was asking about my songwriting, he was so down to earth. I forgot to ask him for a picture but he ended up asking me for one.'
Last December, Jinty started making his way up and down to Nashville to record music as a way to progress in his career and continue living the dream — with a few surprises along the way.
'One night, I was on at 10 o'clock, myself and one other kid. The bar kind of emptied out but I met an Irish lady when I was going to the bathroom. It's very unusual to meet an Irish person in Nashville.
'She asked if I was Irish and what I was doing here. I told her that I was playing on stage in 10 minutes. She said 'no way, there's 90 of us across the street staying in a hotel for the Jimmy Buckley tour.' I told her that I love Jimmy Buckley and I've been singing his songs for years. She said 'hang on, I'll be back.'
'She went across the road and then she came back with about 70 others running in the door. When I got on stage they started screaming and they backed me the whole way. That's the beautiful thing about Irish, if they know you're there on your own they'll back you to the teeth.'