Northern Light: Lurgan native Christopher McGrath, AKA Chrissy Mac, on being a gay man in the country music scene, coping with mental health struggles and life inside his Castlefin pub

Where did your interest in music first come from?

I grew up listening to country music at home. My granny always had Philomena Begley records on and she used to bring us to concerts at a young age. I was always a big fan of Elvis and at the early age of seven, I got the chance to perform his songs on The Gerry Kelly Show on UTV. That was the first time I got a microphone in my hand and sang for people. From there I got into musical theatre and performing arts before country music came back into my life.

Performing on TV at seven years old, you must have been a very confident child?

People described me as a “livewire”. I’m quite a bubbly person, very hyper and you would never see me down.

How has your career progressed? Are you happy with it?

My career has rocketed over the last few years. It was going tremendously well pre-Covid, but the lockdown screwed that up for me. It was hard financially because there was no money coming in. A wee bit of depression kicked in, but now I’m on the road with my brand new band and I recently released a new single. I’m getting the chance to tour with Dominic Kirwan and Cliona Hagan.

How did you cope with your mental health struggles?

I had to take every day as it came. If I sat around and did nothing, I would have been worse. I’m the type of guy that has to be thinking and going all the time. I did some online shows and my band and I teamed up with a guy called Andy Crawford in Fermanagh. We did pay per view shows. You had to also make sure that people didn’t forget about you.

How are you feeling these days?

I’m feeling fantastic. I took to the drink quite heavily at the time, but now I’ve cut off alcohol altogether. Drink is not a good thing, but it’s kind of the norm within the industry. You have a drink with your band and the next thing you know you’re in another venue with more drinks. It was taking a toll on me, so I decided to give it all up to focus on my career and my mental health.

What is it like being teetotal?

It has been tough, but all my friends and family made it a lot easier for me. I’m eight months sober now.

It’s expensive and a big investment to have a band on the road.

I did a one piece show for years, so I wanted to give my career a big kick. When I approached venues to tell them my plans, they booked us in for dates. We said we’d give it a go for a few months and if it wasn’t worth it, we would think of a plan B. It has been going fantastic for us and we have been packing out venues up and down the country.

Christopher McGrath, AKA Chrissy Mac
You also own a bar in Castlefinn.

I opened it last February, I don’t know if that’s a good thing or a bad thing [laughs]. It has been going amazingly. We recently picked up an award for the Best Country and Rural Pub in Donegal from TripAdvisor. We have been getting amazing support from our fans and other artists on the country music scene. You can come here on a Thursday night and see my band perform in a very laid back atmosphere. It’s like an Irish trad session, but it’s with a full country music band. We also have special guests every week. To be located in a country village and to have a full country music dance band on a Thursday night, free of charge, is fantastic.

The pub trade is tough at the moment with spiralling prices.

It’s not easy, but luckily we’ve customers who are into music that keep coming back and we’ve built up a really good local clientele. The price of running things is tremendously scary, the past few weeks have been quite quiet, but we can only hope that better days will come along. The weekends usually make up for the losses during the week.

Are you living on the premises?

I live in a village called Castlefinn in county Donegal and that’s where the pub is located as well, The Railway Tavern. I live just down the road, it’s very handy!

Is being teetotal and owning a pub difficult?

The punters have given me a bit of advice and they tell me I don’t need [the drink]. It was very tough for the first two months because drink was the “go to” after a hard shift. It got easier over time.

Is there a problem with drink in the country music industry in general?

I wouldn’t say there’s a problem with drink. Other people are on the drink every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, they are people’s sociable days when they go out to pubs and clubs, but we are working every weekend. We get back to our hotels at 3am for a drink with our band or our friends, and when drink starts at that hour of the morning, you don’t know when to stop.

What’s it like to be an out gay man on the scene?

I read your recent interview with Gary Gamble about it. Like he said, nobody really bothers you about it. There is never an issue. When I came out I was new to music and I didn’t know how people would react, especially the older generation. But people have been so open and so welcoming to me. It has been really nice and people just want to know how I am getting on, my “coming out” story and how my family took it.

Was your “coming out” okay?

It was fantastic. My family didn’t know and it was a shock to the system for them, but they got over it. They had to! [laughs]

Being based in Donegal, is it hard to gig around Ireland, especially when you have something on in Munster or south Leinster?

The likes of Derek Ryan, Nathan Carter and Lisa McHugh live in Enniskillen because it’s so centrally located. I love the peace and quiet of Donegal, nobody really bothers you when you’re out and about. Travel is a huge part of music and I don’t mind it. I love getting on the road and seeing and meeting new people.

What’s the hardest part about the industry?

Recognition. It’s very hard to get on TV, you need to be well recognised to get a spot, radio is the same. You need to be steadily releasing new music and new content all the time, but that costs money. Sometimes the money just isn’t there.

What’s next for you?

I’ve secured two amazing cruises with Gertrude Byrne around the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. We’re heading away with Daniel O’Donnell, Nathan Carter and Michael English.