b. 3 August 1950, Gaigue, Ballinamuck, Co. Longford, Eire. After leaving school, Flavin was apprenticed as a carpenter, but his love of the recordings of Hank Williams, George Jones and Charley Pride, plus his ambition to be a professional country singer, saw him form a band and begin to entertain in local venues. However, he spent over 12 years as a part-time entertainer and also successfully defeated a drink problem before he finally achieved his goal. In 1986, he recorded a self-financed cassette album sold only at gigs. It was well received and the following year, his recording debut, I’m Going To Make It After All, proved prophetically correct and won him an award. Since then, he has worked hard to establish himself on the Irish and UK country scene and has made highly acclaimed appearances at several major shows. He made his English debut in 1988 at the Peterborough Festival and the following year proved very popular at the International Festival Of Country Music at Wembley. He joined the Ritz Records label in 1990 and the following year, recorded a very popular duet album with Philomena Begley. However, it is his solo recordings that have helped make him one of Ritz’s most popular singers and established him as a major artist.