Donegal band wins 'Seven Steps Up' music competition

Minister of State for Drugs Strategy and Community Affairs Pat Carey announced the acoustic four-piece as winners, while Kildare's Simple Rhythm and Carlow's Killed in action were also highly commended by the judges.

Boy Number Seven are singer-songwriter Marty Gilroy (from Drumkeen) with Sarah Walsh on violin and Aidan Earley on bass (both from Ballybofey) and Richard Durning from Castlefinn on drums.

More than twenty five young people from across the Donegal Youth Work region came together to form a ‘music and media team’ who worked on publicity campaigns, band photographs, fundraising drives and gig management for the group.

The judges said it was a combination of Boy Number Seven's performance and the music and media teams’ highly creative efforts that brought the award home to Donegal.

Judging panel member and Hot Press journalist Jackie Hayden said afterwards: “Boy Number Seven particularly impressed the judges because they avoided the obvious and brought something fresh to the party”.

All Donegal-based participants in the Seven Steps Up Music Awards will now be invited to record an album of their own music with top Irish producers and engineers, in Ashtown Studios in Dublin, with 1,000 copies of the finished product being presented to Donegal Youth Services.