With Irish Music Month set to kick off on Monday September 14, the excitement is mounting about A New Local Hero 2026.

Entries have been rolling in to stations around the country, in what is a wonderful opportunity for Ireland’s rising stars to make a special burst for glory – and the lift-off of a single released through the Rubyworks label – as well as a cash prize of €5,000, payments for performances and studio time courtesy of Camden Recording Studios and mixing and Mastering by the Grammy Award-winning Ruairi Cushnan.

“The music scene in Ireland has never been healthier,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said. “There are so many brilliant artists working across all of the different genres. However, the bottom line, literally, is that it is still very hard for emerging musicians to make a living from their work. A New Local Hero is designed to treat musicians with respect, and put money in their pockets. But it also provides a powerful paunching pad for the artist or band chosen as A New Local Hero 2026.

“The support of radio for Irish artists is hugely important. And that is made very real in this instance with all 22 participating independent local and regional stations committed yo supporting the artist that takes home the A New Local Hero award. So if you are out there, and feel you have the potential to achieve amazing things, there is no better place to start.”

Submissions to A New Local Hero should be made by artists to their local stations – though there is flexibility, depending on both the acts origin story, or where members are living.

What’s important now is for artists to check the websites of stations, to see what the individual closing date is. There is a final deadline of Sunday, after which all stations will have closed the submissions stage.

In addition to the overall winner of A New Local Hero, there is also a Wildcard Award, voted by readers of Hot Press and members of the public – which carries a separate prize f €2,500. Watch this space for news, as the shortlists from stations across Ireland are announced!

Meanwhile, entries are also rolling in directly to Hot Press for Amhrán na Laoch, the Irish-language songwriting competition, supported by An Post.

The competition offers a prize of €2,500 and the prospect of a release of a single featuring the winning song through the Gael Linn label. Entries should be made via the portal on hotpress.com, with at least 50% of the lyrics of the song having to be as Gaeilge.

The judges for Amhrán na Laoch include Mairéad Ní Mhaonigh of Clannad and Fiachna Ó Braonáin of Hothouse Flowers. Winners of the inaugural competition were Belfast tradtronica outfit Huartan, who have prospered hugely in the meantime, developing a reputation as one of the North’s most powerful live acts.

Irish Music Month is also supported by IMRO, RAAP and Live Nation, along with Ticketmaster, Rubyworks, Camden Recording Studios and Spéir Mix and Master. All-in, the value of the Irish Music Month project for Irish artists is in excess of €100,000.

The stations participating in Irish Music Month are: Clare FM, Classic Hits, Cork's 96FM, East Coast FM, FM104, Galway Bay FM, Highland Radio, KCLR, KFM, Limerick Live 95FM, LMFM, Midlands 103, MidWest Radio, Northern Sound, Ocean FM, Radio Kerry, Radio Nova, Shannonside FM, South East Radio, Sunshine FM, Tipp FM, and WLR FM.

• Keep an eye on hotpress.com and listen to your local participating station for more news on Irish Music Month, A New Local Hero and the Irish song competition, Amhrán na Laoch.