Downings' Declan McClafferty  -  aka Ramper - to release debut single this week

Critically acclaimed Donegal alt-folk artist Declan McClafferty  -  aka Ramper - announces his debut album with the release of his new single Back to the Start, this week.

The song is out this Thursday, with his debut album Loner due for release next month. McClafferty, a native of Downings, explains that the song “revisits memories of things I learned from the old people I grew up around and how that’s become important to me now that they’re not here anymore.”

Back to the Start follows Ramper’s 2024 releases If You Want A Good Dream, Pale as the Moon, Kept a Curl, and Promised. In 2024, he showcased at Ireland Music Week and opened for Lisa Hannigan. Once you’ve heard his music, it’s no surprise that he was named One to Watch in 2025 by the Irish Independent and featured in the Irish Post’s Soundtrack of 2025.

READ NEXT: John Joe's Bar in Cill Charthaigh to feature on TG4 trad show Geantraí on Sunday

Loner is an apt name for the album; Ramper played every instrument on the LP, which he recorded and self-produced over six months at his own home studio during stolen moments when his sons were napping. The record was mixed by Daniel Ball (Chubby Cat, Ryan McMullan) and mastered by Richard Dowling (David Bowie, Sinead O’Connor).

McClafferty takes the best of primal rural simplicity and transports it into the future whilst telling the stories of our past and ever-changing present. Based on a childhood lived before the internet and in the Irish language first, McClafferty captures those moments in time that are almost so simple you may not notice them at first, but when you let them settle hold a beauty that cuts through the noise.

McClafferty previously played in the award-winning Donegal band In Their Thousands and is a celebrated session musician. He’s toured as a part of Ryan McMullan’s band, opening for acts such as Dermot Kennedy and Tom Jones and playing festivals including Glastonbury, Latitude and Electric Picnic. McClafferty has recorded with the likes of Paul Brady and Tony Tyrell as a session musician and played SXSW in Rosie Carney’s band. He embarked on his own journey as Ramper to explore a sound at once expansive yet intimate.

There's a duality to McClafferty. It exists in a time that's long gone but it doesn't sound traditional. It's melancholic, yet hopeful. Sometimes stream of consciousness and sometimes labouring in the details. Recognising its imperfections and showing them off. Pedal steel and synth hold up sharp observations, widescreen guitars, and out-of-tune pianos.

Ramper’s songs have already travelled around Ireland, the UK, and across the Atlantic Ocean in the form of cosy shows. His music is best experienced live, in a moment just as ephemeral as his subject matter.