Ciara Doherty talks to Lisa McHugh.

Tv3 visits mayo for new country music documentary

PUT on your Stetson and leave your worries behind as TV3's Ciara Doherty goes on tour with Ireland's biggest country acts in a toe-tapping documentary special that includes an interview with Midwest Radio's Gerry Glennon.

Country music is possibly the most divisive musical genre in Ireland. There are those who really love it and others who love to hate it, but one thing’s for sure - it has never been so openly popular than it is now.

So what's the big attraction for its legion of fans and why do others deride it? Is it the music of a bygone era or does it reflect modern life? Why are more and more young people listening to it? And is it simply music for country people? Ciara goes on a journey to find out in her show At Home With Country Music, which airs tonight (Wednesday) at 9 p.m. on TV3.

As part of the documentary Ciara interviews Gerry Glennon, co-founder of IrishWest TV and Midwest Radio, based in Ballyhaunis. Describing country music, Gerry says: “It's a way of life, it's a lifestyle, it's music that tells a story, it's music that can be happy with people, it's music that can be sad with people - in many ways it reflects ordinary life.”

He adds: “Country has now come to town, as they might say, and is popular in urban areas and rural areas. The younger artists are not afraid to move with the times. They will make it as cool as they can make it - in fact, I’d say some of them almost bring it to the edge. As I say, country is cool and it's in the 21st century.”

The documentary also features The Bridge Tavern in Canningstown as they hold their first ever ‘hooley at the bridge’. The local bar erects a temporary marquee and hopes that country star Lisa McHugh will pull in a crowd. But will the locals come out? Lisa hopes so: “Well there definitely is more of a pressure to make sure people come through the door but I do think in events like this you do see that communities really support their own, so hopefully they'll come out and the rain won't put them off.”

Elsewhere, Ciara travels to Donegal to meet Jimmy Buckley as he takes part in Donegal’s famous weekend country festivals and follows Derek Ryan as he headlines the Olympia in Dublin.

Derek opens up about the biggest gig of his career: “If you'd asked me three years ago if I'd have played in the Olympia I'd have laughed in your face. It's a bit surreal but it's great, it's absolutely great. I always say everybody likes a little bit of country, secretly, maybe secretly, but I think everyone likes a little bit of it.”

Robert Mizzell talks about his experience of the bar/lounge Logues in Cranford, northeast Donegal: “We have fans that if we played in Donegal five nights a week they'd be there for the five nights. It's amazing, and you can see by the reaction of the older people and the younger people they all dance together - they jive, they waltz. This dance circuit here in Ireland is unique.”