Sandy Kelly: In My Own Words

Born in Sligo into a family of travelling entertainers, Sandy Kelly has become one of the top musical performers in Ireland. Sandy was co-opted into the family variety show from an early age. As a teenager she sang on the social club circuit in the UK, playing an ever more prominent role. When she returned to Ireland, she developed initially as a pop performer before following her instincts and concentrating on a music career. Her landmark 1989 recording of the Patsy Cline hit 'Crazy' led her to perform on stages all over the world, including the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and the lead role in Patsy - The Musical in London's West End. But the music industry can be a tough place. Sandy has dealt with prejudice and financial pressures. Alongside the glamour of show business, she has experienced the heartaches of divorce, family illness and death, and faced the challenges of raising a daughter with special needs. Sandy has stood strong at the heart of Ireland's music scene for over four decades. Here, for the first time, she recounts the highs - and lows - of a lifetime in music, in her own words.

Sandy Kelly is one of Ireland's most successful singers. Her awards and achievements include representing Ireland in the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest with The Duskeys, winning the European Gold Star Award for country music in 1985 and representing Ireland at the CMA International Fan Fair in Nashville in 1985 and 1989. Her personal career highlights are recording 'Woodcarver' with Johnny Cash, which achieved gold record status, and receiving a gold record for her version of the Willie Nelson song 'Crazy' in 1989. Sandy has recorded and toured with a host of legendary US country artists, including Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Glen Campbell, Tammy Wynette, George Hamilton IV and Chet Atkins. Through her prime-time TV series, Sandy, on RTÉ, she got to meet and duet with many of her musical heroes, from Irish stars like Ronnie Drew, Big Tom, Dolores Keane and Philomena Begley to international names such as Charley Pride, Emmylou Harris, Demis Roussos and Leo Sayer. She'll tell you herself that she has, on more than one occasion, felt the presence of Patsy Cline's ghost, most memorably on a West End stage while singing 'Crazy'.