Irish Paddy aka Padriag O’connor (the son of a builder and a stay at home mother due to her children’s health condition) was born in Basildon Essex and initially grew up in London. However when work seized on the building sites Irish Paddy along with his siblings were moved to Leeds where his parents began to manage pubs. He then moved with his family to Bradford in Leeds.
Born from decedents of Dublin Ireland (mother was raised Sheriff Street and father in Donny Carney) the Taurus music artist is one of 9 children consisting of 5 brothers and 3 sisters. Growing up in an Irish home and listening to the Irish rebel songs and fellow artists such as Dizzie Rascal, Wiley and Jnr Gong Marley It did not take Irish Paddy long to start writing his own lyrics. At age 18 (2008) the LS6 star planned to release a mixtape but was put on hold due to a family bereavement. This had great and everlasting impact on Irish Paddy and was a major contribution to this mixtape not being released.
However, 3 years later (2011) Irish Paddy found himself ready to release the same mixtape with a couple of changes in it when again it had to be put on hold due to another family bereavement. This along with other issues resulted in Irish Paddy’s lyrical content being filled with the pain and anger that relates to the ongoing problems in Ireland and his life. Having hit lines such as “I want pennies to turn into pounds” (The come up) Irish Paddy was taught never to forget his roots (Ireland) and to be proud of them. In addition to this he was also taught that “Manners and respect cost nothing but goes a long way”; you can hear this alongside other issues through his music.
Although Irish Paddy had lost two of his siblings during the early stages of his career; which the Irish star admits was the saddest moment of his life, this has not deterred him for striving for success within the music industry and perfecting his craft.
Irish Paddy has performed across the Atlantic after winning a place in the Leeds young authors voices of a new generation spoken word slam in states such as San Francisco (2005), and New York (2006). In addition to this, he has further shared the stage with the likes of Big Narstie (now label mate), Section Boyz, Flowdan, Sox and FlirtaD to mention a few.
When asked about future goals, Irish Paddy Stated, “I want to spread my message through music to make change” In view of this 2018 saw the release of Irish Paddy’s first EP, (The Real Irish Paddy, ‘The RIP’) whilst being signed to Dice Recordings Music after being discovered by Kevin The Legend Company director).
Inspired by his siblings who believed in him to the extent that they used their disability money on studio time for the RIP star before they sadly passed away. Irish Paddy states that this is also why he must believe in himself. Irish Paddy does this for all of those that respect his music as well as those he has loved and lost and also wanted to see him succeed within the music industry. Irish Paddy states, “I would like to represent Ireland in the house of pain”
Tune in on Friday 17th August from 00:00-02:00 with Lioness
