“I lived in Belfast for a few years – sad though it may sound, the pace of life was too fast. You wake up in the morning with traffic. We have a farm behind the house here, so there is noise. But it’s a comforting noise.”

Ciaran Lavery likes his peace and quiet. The singer-songwriter hails from Aghagallon, a tiny village in Antrim where he's lived most of his life, and acknowledges the huge influence it has on his writing.
“Any reference point I have would usually be from home. I don’t think I’ve ever sat down and thought ‘I’m going to write something really obviously about home’. There’s times I haven’t meant to bring up things. They just spill out onto the page.”
Lavery’s songwriting is nothing short of remarkable. His most recent EP is his best yet, bursting with can’t-be-faked honesty and emotion.
“I’m a good fiction reader, not a good fiction writer,” he laughs. “Memories, real-life experience have slipped into more or less every song.”
No wonder he chose a title that represents all things authentic: Kosher.
Lavery is far from a newcomer, having cut his teeth with the six-piece Captain Kennedy. Over the years, he has earned a reputation as a talented performer and an outstanding songwriter; his 2013 debut album, Not Nearly Dark, won critical acclaim, and Kosher has been greeted with universal plaudits.
Not that he is in danger of suffering a swelled head.
“I’m really self-critical; I’ve never come away from any song that I’ve wrote, from my teens until now, and thought, ‘That’s a hit’.”
Anyone else, though, should be able to see Kosher for what it is. Lyrically sweet, and melodically soulful, the LP is a showcase for Lavery’s raw, delicate voice. He intended it to stand in contrast to earlier songs.
“I didn’t want things to sound the same compared to the album. Even our set-up in the studio was different.”
That search for something new has led Ciaran to shaking up his live band and turning his attention overseas.
“Success in the UK would obviously be great, and I’m also looking towards the Continent. When people say ‘There’s a really good scene up there [in Northern Ireland]’, you think, ‘Really, is there?!’ Because you’re already in it, you really don’t know. Hopefully, by the end of the year there’ll have been some dabblings in Europe too.”
This homebird is looking to spread his wings. Catch him while you can; his like won’t come along every day.

Kosher is out now