After surviving lockdown by playing a series of lauded online gigs, Rory Gallagher – known by the stage name Rory & the Island – is swapping the screen for the stage with a UK and Ireland tour slated for later this year.

Along with his return to the live circuit, Gallagher announced his new album, Centre Falls Apart, will be released on March 11 via indie label Voices of the Sea. Of the album he says: "Centre Falls Apart was largely born from the struggles of lockdown and the resilience people needed to counteract it."

On the same night the album is released, the singer will start his regional tour in Dublin's Opium followed by Monroe's in Galway on March 12.

See the full tour dates below.

Rory started his career in the music industry playing bass guitar for the Donegal-formed indie outfit The Revs. The group saw two top-five albums before disbanding in 2007. He started releasing music under the new moniker in 2011 and found noted success across Ireland with his two full length LPs, Watching the Sun Go Down and Addicted to Applause.

As COVID-19 decimated the entertainment sector, Gallagher turned to alternative forms of income to survive. In a press release, the singer-songwriter revealed he became an Amazon driver for one day before "dusting off his acoustic guitar" and taking to social media to entertain fans.

“I noticed a lot of musicians on Facebook doing live gigs, so I tried it and made more in two hours than I would driving the van for the whole week. The Amazon job lasted a day,” Gallagher said.

“So online gigs provided our income, we moved over to Scotland and that was paying the rent, it kept us going for the whole year and I began to enjoy it, it was so much more intimate and quiet and I think it made me a better artist.

“On Facebook, we would have 700 watching live every week but sometimes there would be 40,000-50,000 views after a few days.”

Among these shows was a mammoth eight-hour Facebook Live gig that earned him world-wide recognition in August 2020.

His first post-lockdown gig was in The Dublin Castle in Camden, London.

“The first gig back was magic, I had forgotten the feeling; it feels like surfing when there’s a big crowd singing the lyrics back to you, it becomes a wave effect in the room, you’re actually getting carried by them," he added.

Rory & the Island 2022 UK and Ireland tour:

March 11 - Opium, Dublin

March 12 - Monroe's, Galway

March 25 - The Boulevard, Wigan

April 22 - An Grianan Theatre Letterkenny, Donegal

May 7 - Lakeside Hotel, Virginia, Cavan

May 29 - The Pack Horse, Leeds

June 16 - Hare and Hounds, Birmingham

July 16 - City Sports and Social Club, Derry

July 17 - Ulster Sports Club Hall, Belfast

October 2 - Caves Theatre, Edingburgh