Rua Rí

Growing up in a coastal town, the presence of the sea is ever felt and for Cobh-born singer-songwriter Rua Rí, aka Seán Damery, it is no different. It is rare that the sea does not bleed into the soft and serene folk music he has become known for, his work echoing tradition while forging a path that feels wholly his own. He has been featured alongside many other emerging Irish and folk talent having supported Amble, Joshua Burnside, Kean Kavanagh and Sam Amidon to name a few and is quickly carving out his place in Ireland’s vibrant contemporary scene.

Rua Rí aka Seán Damery’s debut album Tell Your Mother I Saved Your Life is rooted in place, memory, and ordinary life, with nearly every song tying back to specific locations — Cobh, Cork City, nearby fields, local woods, familiar streets — and the emotions attached to them. These aren’t romanticised landscapes, they’re lived-in settings filled with drinking, boredom, friendship, and small moments that only feel meaningful in hindsight. It documents a very local, very personal world, where the emotional weight comes from familiarity rather than grandeur, capturing snapshots and impressions and the feeling of being somewhere, at a certain age, with certain people.

Fully produced by Kean Kavanagh, Tell Your Mother I Saved Your Life is Rua Rí’s coming-of-age portrait favouring atmosphere and feeling with a mix of humor, warmth, and quiet introspection. It captures the tension between wanting to move on and being deeply tied to where you’re from. The result is something intimate and grounded, an album about youth, locality, and the small, fleeting moments that end up defining you, even if they didn’t seem important at the time.