Sweet Seventeen: Interview with Niamh Crowther

On Niamh Crowther’s Breaking Tunes page the 17-year-old singer-songwriter is described as sounding like Adele, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush and KT Tunstall. That’s some serious talent to live up to Niamh. No pressure!

But before the County Meath teenager can dream of ‘Chasing Pavements’ or ‘Wuthering Heights’ , there’s the small matter of sitting her Leaving Cert .

“I’m doing seven subjects: English, Irish, Maths, Spanish, Biology, Geography and Music,” she enthusiastically tells me. With the dreaded mocks only three weeks away, Crowther is in optimistic form. “I’m fairly stressed. But it’ll be grand: my mam lit a candle so I’m on my way to six hundred points. Once mam lights a candle, that’s it,” she jokes.

Assuming said candle works its magic, is third level on the cards? “I’m hoping to go to St. Patrick’s College Drumcondra, to do primary school teaching,” she reveals. “I always wanted to be a teacher. You get to do music with the kids. Teaching is a great career. You’ve got plenty of time off in summer to go gigging.”

Setting academia aside, Crowther has been making ripples in the music world too. Somewhat of a stalwart of the IYMAs (Irish Youth Music Awards), the Ashbourne student values her experiences representing Meath in the event through 2011 and 2013.

“Before the IYMAs I'd been doing stuff like the All-Ireland Talent Show and little school competitions. It was really competitive: either you’re a winner or a loser. There was no teamwork. So the idea of the IYMAs really appealed.”

A winner in both years , Crowther’s track ‘Bullets’ appeared on the IYMA 2013 album, and much to her surprise even made it on to the iTunes charts.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was astonished,” she exclaims. “I thought it was strange when my dad rang me during school. He just said, ‘Oh yeah Niamh, you’re number two on the rock charts’. It was mad. The fact people would actually pay to listen to my music is really special.”

Having finished another gruelling day in school, Crowther is delighted to be informed three of her favourite bands, Little Green Cars, Villagers and Kodaline, are in the running for the year’s Choice Music Prize. Forced to pick between seven A1s or a Choice nod for her debut album in 2014, which would she prefer?

“I’ve no interest in fame at all,” she admits. “If I was ever in the public eye, as some kind of role model, I'd want people to understand an education is important. Obviously, there comes a point where you have to go after what you believe in too. I guess I’d like both. Multi-tasking isn’t really my thing but it’s what I seem to end up doing.”

So whether the young Meath lady can top the Billboard Charts, perform Bond theme tunes, or inspire generations of women to come remains to be seen. With an EP and some summer festival slots in the pipeline, you can be sure that whatever else life throws at this level-headed youngster, she’ll take it all in her stride… with a bit of multi-tasking of course.