Padraig Jack – releases new single ‘Lovely Stare’ at end of this week

Acclaimed bilingual singer-songwriter Padraig Jack unveils his latest single, Lovely Stare, on March 21^st. A deeply personal love song, it recounts the moment he met the love of his life. This track is the latest from his second album, These Shores, released last October and produced by John Reynolds (Sinead O’Connor, Damien Dempsey). The song also features Anthony Thistlethwaite (The Waterboys, The Saw Doctors) and Fergal Scahill (We Banjo 3).

An intimate and autobiographical track, Lovely Stare tells the story of Padraig’s trip to Berlin with friends for a few gigs and a short holiday—where fate introduced him to a woman who, despite her perfect German, turned out to be from Galway. While he remains unsure about love at first sight, he recalls seeing that she was “precious, in a world of common find” and hoping she would return to Ireland with him—and she did. With time, one lyric in the song has become out of date: “I hope she and I will have one day a family”—as Padraig and Ciara are now proud parents to a three-year-old daughter.

2025 has already been a whirlwind year for Padraig, with performances at prestigious national and international festivals. Notably, when Storm Eowyn caused mass cancellations at Celtic Connections on January 24th, his show with Steve Wickham (The Waterboys) and No Crows was among the few to go ahead—fitting, as Wickham also plays on Padraig’s latest album. The following morning, he delivered a standout showcase at Culture Ireland’s Celtic Cousins event, before jetting off to Dublin for a full-band performance at Dublin Tradfest in Áras Chrónáin.

February saw Padraig make his debut at Galway’s Tonnta Bilingual Festival, followed by a run of sold-out shows in Cymru. He also marked his first appearance at Folk Alliance in Montréal, Canada, with Culture Ireland, and joined The High Kings on the west coast of Ireland leg of their biggest tour to date, with performances at Castlebar’s TF Royal, Galway Leisureland, Limerick UCH, and the INEC Killarney.

Fri. 4 April Backstage Theatre, Longford
Wed. 23 April Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin
Sat. 10 May The Richmond Revival, Fermoy, Cork
Thurs. 22 May Ballyglass, Co. Mayo
Fri. 23 May Crane Bar, Galway
Fri. 30 May Mullingar Chambers, Co Westmeath