Conor Owens visits My Arney Home
By Alan Shipston for Country Music News International Magazine
Conor Owens is a rising country artist from Arney, Ireland and pays tribute to that hometown with his fifth single, My Arney Home. “I have heard the tales of beauty all over Ireland,” sings Owens as the mid-tempo song recalls the small village in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland built on the Arney River. Fiddle and piano compete during the intro that resolves into a traditional train beat style country song during the verses. Conor’s confident vocal spins a tale of romance and dreaming of a local lakeland girl to settle down with in his Arney home.
Written by Donegal musician, Al McQuilkin, My Arney Home is a real hometown anthem with plenty of country charm as electric guitar steers the song between fiddle licks. The rhythm section keeps everyone moving forward while a barroom piano plies its trade in the background. Tracked at Harmony Recording Studios in Letterkenny Co, Donegal, Ireland, My Arney Home has a distinctive Irish undertone to the production as the young singer leans on his background. While Conor cites Garth Brooks, Merle Haggard, Jimmy Buckley and Alan Jackson as his main influences, he credits his father, Tommy Owens, with inspiring his love for country music in the first place. “Country Music was always playing in the house,” he says. “From when I was no size, I was always singing. My father got me to sing songs with him and taught me the guitar. I grew up with it. The records of Haggard and Brooks were always on. It was hard to get away from.”
The Arney singer has established himself as one of the county’s rising stars on the country scene and he’s built on his recent fame by releasing his take on the song, Should’ve Asked Her Faster. A song that was originally recorded by American singer Ty England back in 1999, the talented and popular Owens put his own unique twist on the single. Conor’s previous releases have included, My Own Washing and Texas Tornado.
Following in the footsteps of Anthony McBrien, Rachel McConnell and John Garrity, Owens made it all the way to the final of TG4’s Glor Tire, where he was mentored by country star, David James. In 2024, he finished as runner up in the Northwest County Showdown to add to his growing music career.