Jimmy Berry has a bit of a cough these days, but you’d never guess when he’s singing. He’s still got a grand voice and a really intricate whistle, too.
From County Wexford, Jimmy learned songs from his parents but feels his singing style is closer to that of his mother. His father had an impressive knowledge of songs, but he probably remembers the songs his mother sang more readily, just as he would hear them over and over again as she worked.
Every morning at 7am, Jimmy listens to Irish songs on a Connemara radio station, but he’s a Country music fan, too – though those Country-style yodels are a bit more tricky to master in later life, he says.
Jimmy’s daughter, Mary Lou Berry, is too shy to sing, but her son, Jimmy’s grandson, also a Jimmy, is a fine young singer and has learned many songs from CDs.
