The past 12 months have been hugely successful for the Malahide foursome, packed with live gigs, recording, and the release of an album that's already being hailed as one of the great Irish debuts.

“It’s got to the stage when if an Irish band does well in the charts, it’s not a shock, more of a natural progression,” reflects singer Michael Maloney. "The great thing about being in the top 10 is that it makes the mainstream media take notice. We've been getting loads of airplay on daytime radio, which would have been unthinkable a few years ago."

Director's first break came in the form of 2005's Faction One CD and tour, which also featured The Blizzards, The Marshals and Republic Of Loose.

“In recent times bands have become incredibly supportive of each other,” guitarist Eoin Aherne enthuses. “The amount of people saying 'well done' when we charted was incredible. There's very little rivalry.”

Music Ireland '06 is a great opportunity for bands to exchange ideas and learn more about the industry they're in.

“It's all very new and exciting,” Michael resumes. “When we released our first single we didn’t know what to expect and it did really well. The biggest thing that's happened to us was our last tour. It was our first time headlining, and the crowds just got bigger and bigger."

You can discover what all the fuss is about on Sunday November 26 when Director play the Live Stage at Music Ireland '06.

Deirdre O'Brien