Everything has changed so much since I started writing this album. It's not too far off 4 years since I decided this is what I was going to do, being honest I knew well I wanted to write albums since I was 5 or 6 years old, it's just stupid it took me so long. Pete and Rob have both become fathers in the last 4 years, neil has moved to Thailand, we've met Hannah who has just fitted in perfectly and Dave has become a brilliant producer!!!!

All the years that I've spent playing guitar, writing songs and playing gigs have made me realise something important.... Technically I'm a shambles, I can't read music, I don't know the names of half the chords I play, I'm fairly sure some of them aren't even chords. I have no real technique. I could go on but on the flip side of this I now understand what I'm good at. Spending so much time in a studio makes you face up to everything, there's nowhere to hide. I think it could be an Irish thing but I almost feel bad saying I'm good at something, turns out I'm good at melodies, I've always been affected by them and the rhythm of a song is the first thing I feel.

Secondly it's the lyrics, I've always loved storytellers and songs with a standout melody with hard hitting lyrics are absolute perfection for me. I focus so much on lyrics, I need to say things in a way that has never been said before, words to me, are just so powerful. Imagine, with just two sentences you can destroy someone or make someone feel incredible, everyone has that ability. Words are invisible yet they affect every single part of who we are and what we do, that fascinates me. I knew I loved writing since I was a child, it's all coming together now, the melodies, the lyrics and I feel different, it feels like I'm doing what I should be doing.

I love being part of a team, I just love it. I've never been someone who thinks he knows it all, quite the opposite in fact, I love to learn from others, I'm fascinated by what other people know, what they're good at and how to put it all together to make something incredible. Music and soccer have been the two things that have taken most of my energy and focus all my life. They are my escape, I was first made Captain of a soccer team when I was 11 years old, I played for the Under 13's and although I wasn't technically the best player, I must have done something right. I'm nearly at the end of my competitive playing days but luckily I had the honour of being Captain for a lot of years at 3 different clubs. When it comes to music I see my role as something similar, everyone involved has a skill that the others don't, a skill that sets them apart yet they share something similar.

It's hard to organise everything but we're making good progress, the time frame is irrelevant at this stage. We're starting to get some really good feedback from some of the songs, It's different this time around, all the stuff we did when we were younger makes sense now. Experience I suppose they call it but what is experience? I'll tell you, when we were teenagers we won the biggest band competition in Limerick, yeah I thought it was just so easy, we'll get signed, we'll tour, we'll be famous, all good. Well that didn't happen but thank God!!! This time around it doesn't even cross my mind, it's the process, why didn't I see this before? Think about what you love, what you really want to do..... Now forget about the good times, the good days. You want to be a songwriter? Then forget about getting signed, forget about playing sell out concerts, forget about having a number one, basically forget about everything the X-Factor is telling you to aspire to. The reason is simple, you need to love the boring, bad days, when you figure that out you know what you should be doing. I absolutely love when I get the feeling in my stomach that I need to play guitar because I need to write a song. From that moment, to actually writing something, to sharing it with the lads, to recording it, the whole process is what I love, forget the afterwards, don't even think about the consequences, the process is everything, I am without doubt a writer and a decent Captain and now I'm going to bring it all together.

I think it's fair to say that nearly everyone I know is more realistic than me. I don't care, I'm not into realistic and it's time to be honest. I want to write the greatest album ever written, I assume I'll fail but I can't think of anything I'd rather fail at. Jesus, you can fail at anything, why not fail trying to do something incredible?? With the album practically complete I can say this..... It's the best thing I've ever written, it's way better than I expected when I started and I usually hate what I write!! Is it the greatest album ever written? I don't care... I'm in love with the process, if it's not the greatest album ever written then so what, I'm not finished writing albums yet.... It's only over when you give up... and I don't give up!