It’s been a remarkable decade for Irish musician Hozier, the long-haired, intellectual music star from County Wicklow. He’s gone from his breakout 2013 single Take Me to Church to global fame, and on 27 April he reached a “very sweet landmark” in his career, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with his single Too Sweet. The last Irish person to get a US number 1? The late, great Sinéad O’Connor, with Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990.
Hozier - born Andrew Hozier-Byrne - creates soulful, deeply-felt music inspired by his love of the blues and soul, but he’s also inspired by Ireland’s history and landscape. On his third album, Unreal Unearth, he sings in Irish for the first time. He also taps into Irish literary history, with references to author Flann O’Brien via the songs De Selby (Part 1) and De Selby (Part 2).
His earthy yet epic sound surely has its roots in his connection to County Wicklow, which boasts some of Ireland’s most awe-inspiring natural features. Hozier spent the Covid period in the county himself, regularly sharing photos online of gorgeous beachside sunsets, and he told the Washington Post that recordings of birds outside his farmhouse made it onto his recent EP, on the track Wildflower and Barley.
But he clearly takes inspiration from the wider county too. One of Wicklow’s highlights is the stunning Glendalough, where Hozier was pictured after bumping into fans by its Upper Lake, and where he did some filming at the beginning of his career. He’s also written of his wanderings around Powerscourt Estate - including cheekily rolling down its hills (presumably in his younger years). The video for De Selby Part 2, featuring actor Domhnall Gleeson, was filmed in the Wicklow Mountains.
When he wants to venture further, Hozier is known to take a dip at the Forty Foot in Dublin’s Sandycove. “I'm not a man known for his gym enthusiasm, but I love a good swim... The area provides gorgeous views of the coast, and is an historically and culturally significant part of County Dublin,” he told photographer Barry McCall. Near the Forty Foot is a Martello Tower which also features in Ulysses, written by one of Hozier’s favourite authors, James Joyce.