Ireland at the GRAMMYs

The GRAMMY Awards are held every year in LA and mark the phenomenal achievements of the music industry. These awards are presented by the Recording Academy and are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the music industry worldwide.

This year Ireland is making its presence known with 18 nominations across a plethora of categories. From ‘Best Rock Album’ to producing and mastering on ‘Best Pop Album’ to orchestral performances on ‘Best Choral Performance’, these eight Irish artists have represented the talent and drive of the Irish music industry at the highest level.

Garnering not one, but two nominations across two major categories, Fontaines DC are up for 'Best Rock Album', for their critically acclaimed record 'Romance', and 'Best Alternative Music Performance', for breakout single ‘Starburster’.

Ahead of their appearance at the GRAMMYs, we spoke to bassist Conor Deegan III aka Deego about the nominations, their creative process and the other Irish artists that inspire them right now.

Aoife O’Donovan whose Irish-American heritage deeply intertwined in her sound, is nominated for two Grammy awards this year. Her album "All My Friends" is up for Best Folk album and Best American Roots Song for the title track.

In an interview ahead of her appearance at the GRAMMYs, O’Donovan shares insights into her craft, the meaning behind her newest record, “All My Friends”, and how her dual nationality continues to influence her work.

Cork born musician Cian Ducrot is nominated for his songwriting and vocals on SZA’s 2024 single 'Saturn'. The song has been nominated in the Best R&B Song category at this years GRAMMYs.

Ruairi O’Flaherty of Nomograph Mastering is a native to Killarney, Kerry and is a mastering engineer. He has worked on previously nominated albums such as Lana Del Rey’s album ‘Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’, however this year he was the mastering engineer on Sabrina Carpenter’s album ‘Short n’ Sweet’, which has been nominated for three GRAMMYs. He also worked on St Vincent's record ‘All Born Screaming’, which is nominated for four awards.

Jordan Adetunji is a Belfast based rapper who is nominated for ‘Best Melodic Rap Performance’ for his song ‘Kehlani (ft. Kehlani)’. His album ‘A Jaguar’s Dream’ was released this week and features the GRAMMY nominated song. The song itself gained tracktion on TikTok and reached chart topping highs over the last year.

Listen to the album here:

Rhiannon Giddens is nominated for Best American Roots Performance of ‘The Ballad of Sally Anne’ and plays the banjo and viola on Beyoncé’s album ‘Texas Hold ‘Em’, which is nominated for three GRAMMYs this year. Giddens who hails from North Carolina, resides in Limerick, Ireland and continues to work on exploring and experimenting with her now Irish-tinged folk music.

Cian Riordan is a sound engineer and mixer who was born in Ireland, raised in Northern California and now based in LA. He worked on St Vincent’s record ‘All Born Screaming’ which is nominated for four awards: ‘Best Rock Performance’, ‘Best Rock Song’ for ‘Broken Man’, ‘Best Alternative Music Performance’ for ‘Flea’ and ‘Best Alternative Music Album’ for ‘All Born Screaming’.

Elaine Kelly is the first Irish conductor to be nominated for a GRAMMY Award. Kelly, who is from Cork, is nominated for ‘Best Choral Performance’ for ‘Sheehan: Akathist’. This is her first time being nominated and attending the GRAMMYs and she is paving the way for future Irish and female conductors hoping to take the big stage by storm.