On this week's Róisín Meets podcast singer Mary Black talks about what she sees as a lack of Irish music on the radio.
“I don’t like attacking radio stations about not playing more Irish music. I’d love it if they did, but I know it’s hard. There are more radio stations in Ireland per head, I think, than there are anywhere else in the world,” she says.
In places such as France and Canada, she says legislation is in place that requires a percentage of the music played to be local.
“That would make a huge difference. We have so much talent here.”
The singer is about to embark on The Last Call tour in Australia, which will be her last tour abroad.
“Time is more precious. I have two beautiful granddaughters and I want to be around for them.
“I want to make time for all sorts of things. Because I’ve been so busy, time flies by too quickly, and you can’t stop to smell the coffee.”
She also wants to spend more time with Joe, her husband of 35 years who is also her manager, and her three children, two of whom are professional musicians. Her daughter is the singer Róisín O, who "didn't want anything to do with Black", and her son Danny O'Reilly is the lead singer of The Coronas.
Black says leaving her children to tour when they were younger was a constant “ache”.
The 60-year-old released her autobiography Down The Crooked Road in 2014, naming it after "the twists and turns of my life".
“My life has taken two different directions at the same time: the life that is the music business and my family, which is extremely important to me . . . It’s funny how they both intertwine.”
She also talks about the things that led her sister Frances to form the Rise foundation, a charity that helps the family members of people with addictions.
Black has upcoming performances this month in Clonmel on the 14th, Tralee on the 26th and Limerick on the 27th.
She will play Vicar Street in Dublin on April 16th and at the Millennium Forum in Derry on April 23rd.
Tickets are available at ticketmaster.ie
To listen to the conversation or other episodes of the podcast, go to Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher or irishtimes.com
