Shawn Cuddy

b. 2 May 1963, Camross, Portlaoise, County Laois, Eire. The eldest of 11 children, Cuddy grew up in a house where country music was always playing. After leaving school, he worked as an attendant at Mountmellick Hospital. In 1981, influenced by Margo and Big Tom, he and sisters Elizabeth and Martina formed a country band. When his siblings quit, he continued as a solo artist. He financed his first single by a bank loan and found that ‘Little Nell' gained sufficient airplay to become a number 1 on RTE's country chart; he subsequently launched his professional career as an enter...