Photo Credit: Tanya Cullen
Niall Breslin (also known to many as “Bressie”) is a multi-faceted Irish artist, author, academic and mental health campaigner whose work transcends traditional creative boundaries. Breslin has just released ‘Be The Sky‘, the second single from his forthcoming album ‘The Place That Has Never Been Wounded.‘ A spacious, introspective and emotionally resonant work that marks a new direction, The Place That Has Never Been Wounded is set to be released October 24th via the Icelandic label INNI.
Written as one of the first pieces for the album, Be The Sky is also among its most personal. “It stems from the fact that as the world becomes more connected and moves faster, it doesn’t feel bigger; it can actually start to feel really small and close in on you,” Niall shares.
“I’ve learned that when my world starts to feel that small, I have to make it bigger again consciously. I think of the sky. It’s a constant; it can hold absolutely everything. The storms, sunshine, calm and chaos, and it’s constantly changing, just like our minds.
This song is about that realisation. At its core, it’s about understanding that you are not your thoughts. You are the one who gets to watch them, thoughts are just weather, and weather changes (especially in this country).”
With Be The Sky adding to the tone set by previous single The Credence Frequency, the album unfoldsacross 14 carefully crafted piano compositions. Gently framed by atmospheric strings and immersive ambient details, the album is a stylistic swerve from Breslin’s earlier work.
Streaming link: https://found.ee/eHBo3
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkUcRHRDG8E
ABOUT THE ALBUM:
Part musical breakthrough, part philosophical treatise, and part autobiography, The Place That Has Never Been Wounded spotlights Breslin’s inherent musicality and his continued sharing of his personal journey. “There’s an awful lot about my life that I can’t really express,” he explains. “Things that I find really difficult to understand, or to put into words. And those are the things I put into music.”
Breslin has a lot of experience to work from. His storied career has included everything from playing professional rugby, until a career-ending injury, to releasing hit records, both solo, and with his former band The Blizzards. He’s written an award-winning memoir entitled Me, and my Mate Jeffrey, and started the ‘A Lust For Life’ charity, which provides early prevention mental health programmes in half of Ireland’s primary schools.
Currently studying a PhD in Trinity College Dublin, Niall is focusing on the intersection of music and mindfulness. Somewhere along the way, making sense of life became a public process, and in that sense, the new album is the sound of many disparate pieces sliding into place.
Recorded at Camden Recording Studios in Dublin over five days with the help of friend and producer Eliot James (Bloc Party, Two Door Cinema Club, Petr Aleksander). They double-tracked each piece on a Steinway grand piano and a felted upright piano, resulting in a sound that’s both intimate and rich, a peaceful space for a certain kind of quietude.
“I’ve learned in my own life that you can’t avoid the things that make you uncomfortable,” says Breslin. “This record is meant to help people sit with that — the good, the bad, and the ugly of life. A soundtrack that lets you sit with it all.”
The album will be accompanied by a book of the same name, due for publication by John Murray One in print, ebook and audio editions in January 2026. Each track is named after one chapter, and each of the four acts — The Polaris Principles, Duchas, Metta, and The Place That Has Never Been Wounded — is titled after one of its core concepts inspired by the work of Meister Eckhart. An extended version of the album is planned, to include spoken word reflections intended for use in guided meditation.
“A line I use in the spoken word is we’ve become so busy chasing a life that we’ve ultimately missed living it,” Breslin says. “And that’s what this album’s about — living what’s in front of you. Even if what’s in front of you isn’t particularly nice — live it. That’s the goal of this record, really.”
LIVE SHOWS
Oct 24th – All Ages Show – Mick Lally Theatre, Galway – 3pm (presented by Black Gate)
Oct 24th – Evening Show – Mick Lally Theatre, Galway – 8pm (presented by Black Gate)
Oct 25th – Saint George’s Arts and Heritage Centre, Mitchelstown – Doors 7.30pm Show 8pm
Oct 26th – Multyfarnham Friary, Mullingar (presented by The Chambers Bar)
Oct 27th – John’s Church, John’s Square, Limerick (presented by All we Have are Days) – Doors 7.30pm – Doors 8pm
Oct 28th – The Whale Theatre, Greystones – Doors 7pm, Show 8pm
Oct 29th – Set Theatre, Kilkenny – Doors 8pm – Show 8.30pm
Nov 9th – Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin – Doors 7.30pm – Show 8pm
Tickets on sale 11am Thursday 14th August from https://www.niallbreslin.com/