Hi I’m Der Hurley, welcome to my new web site for 2007. I come from a place called Aherlick, Enniskeane, Co. Cork which is the heart of West Cork. I've been playing guitar since I was twelve years old and have done a lot of my singing around west cork. The artists that would have influenced me over the years would be Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, John Prine, Kris Kristofferson, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Buck Owens, Hal Ketchum and a lot of the more modern country singers. In June 2005 I met Kris Kristofferson after a concert he did in Killarney and after talking to him I felt very positive about my own music and decided then to record a song by Johnny Cash called Folsom Prison Blues. The radio stations played it and it got very positive reaction so I decided to record my first album and called it Country Choices. The Album was launched on October 27th, 2006 in the Castle Ahan, Enniskeane, Co. Cork to a full house with other local bands playing support on the night. The album has got great feed back from the radio stations and from the general public and it is something I am very proud of. Since then I have been playing all around West Cork and into Kerry to crowds in hotels and bars and I am enjoying it very much. I run a dairy and beef farm here in a place called Aherlick, Enniskeane which is only two miles from Coppeen Village on the northern side of Enniskeane Parish. I am married to Marie and we have three children Ruth, Jeremiah and Grace and we all live here in the old farm house which was built in 1916. Music has always been a part of my life and it blends well with the farming, it takes my mind off the job and helps me to relax. Last year I was given the opportunity to open two shows for Bob Wootton who is the man that played lead guitar for Johnny Cash for thirty three years, this has been the highlight of my musical career so far. I have always been a fan of Johnny Cash and Bob told me lovely stories about Johnny and his wife June and they are something I will never forget. This year Bob was back in Ireland again with his wife and daughter performing his tribute to the great Johnny Cash and once again I had the privilege of opening his show in the Baltimore Harbour Hotel in West Cork.