It's a bit of a tradition in Irish pop to begin your career as a busker - both Hothouse Flowers and The Frames served their time on Grafton Street before stardom beckoned, and now Dubliner Paddy Casey (left) has come up from street level in search of greater heights.
The 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Dublin has been signed to Sony's S2 label, and his debut album, Amen (So Be It) is released on Monday. Casey has been compared with Welsh singer David Gray, but he is hoping to forge his own identity during the summer, when he appears at the Glastonbury Festival, the Fleadh in London, and the Big Beat in Galway. You can check out Casey's form when he celebrates his recorded debut with a headline gig in Whelans on Wednesday.
