John Spillane (born in 1961 in Cork, Ireland) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Going solo after featuring in Irish bands The Stargazers and then Nomos, in 2003 he won a Meteor Music Award in the Best Folk/Traditional Act category. He has co-written songs with leading Irish language poet Louis de Paor (or "Louis de/the poet" as he likes to call him). Spillane graduated from University College Cork with a degree in Irish and in English. During his college years and after, he was involved with several Cork bands, most notably The Stargazers and then Nomos. With Nomos, Spillane featured on two albums, I Won't Be Afraid Anymore (1996) and Set You Free (1997). As a solo musician, Spillane has recorded a number of solo albums, beginning with The Wells of the World (1997; re-released in 2000), Will We Be Brilliant Or What (2002), and Hey Dreamer (2005). In 2006 he released The Gaelic Hit Factory in which he sang some songs in Irish. Leading Irish language poet Louis de Paor, read his poems on the album and also has all the writing credits for the album. The album "My Dark Rosaleen & the Island of Dreams" followed in 2008. As a songwriter, Spillane's songs have been recorded by Karan Casey, Christy Moore, Sharon Shannon and many more.
