IRISH country music may be in revival mode, but not it's not the maudlin type to make you weep into your hankie, judging by the constantly happy air which seems to follow Lynette Fay wherever she goes.
And that could be in the studio, backstage at a concert hall or up to her knees in mud at a barn dance or country festival somewhere, well away from the city lights but radiating a rural brilliance all of its own.
As anyone who watched True North's 'Keepin Her Country' segment will testify, the country music scene has become the hot new nightspot of the north – and there is no more devout disciple than the Co Tyrone-born BBC presenter who narrates the dedicated six-part series it spawned.
Bearing the title of the one-off programme, the first episode of Keepin ‘er Country aired on Monday, and this time – much to the relief of her many Tyrone fans – the broadcaster’s gentle brogue was in evidence throughout.
Fay provided the original voiceover for the True North show last year but was replaced by English actress Sheridan Smith when it went out to British viewers on BBC3.
But while some took offence, down-to-earth 38-year-old Fay took it all in characteristic good humour, a personality trait that has served her well since the beginning of a niche broadcasting career 15 years ago.
‘Smile and the world smiles with you – cry and you cry alone’ could be the silent soundtrack to her life so far, with the ability to ‘laugh it off’ an instinctive reaction should the talented broadcaster ever find herself lost for words.
Having made a career out of talking, that doesn’t happen very often, but occasionally – just occasionally – someone may crack a joke at the wrong time or veer wildly ‘off script’ and an awkward pause is typically filled with timely Dungannon drollery.
"The best piece of advice anyone ever gave me was 'Remember, it's only rock 'n' roll and nobody dies,” she contends.
"Seeing the funny side of things gets you out of all sorts of predicaments, but usually the problem is getting people to stop talking – certainly, country music fans especially don't seem to know when to stop.
"I'm as a bit of a talker myself, so I love meeting the fans of the singers, many of whom are regular faces at all the events. I have made many friends through the interviews, including Nathan Carter who is naturally hilarious.
"Then, when I was filming Opry an Iúir with Daniel O'Donnell in January in Newry Town Hall – which had been transformed into the Opry in Nashville – my job was to chat backstage with all the fans and it was a real eye-opener, just how fanatical they are and how the concerts can provide a kind of emotional therapy in their lives.
"One lady in her 70s had travelled from Co Mayo when Charlie Landsborough was Daniel's special guest. She had lost her husband recently and got great comfort from listening to Landsborough’s music. It was a big deal for her to open up about that on camera.
"The young fans, on the other hand, are really up for a laugh and the craic is amazing. I think country music has suffered a poor image in the past but that is now changing. Today the girls dress up to meet their heroes and are really glamorous."
Although you don't actually see Fay on camera in the new Keepin 'er Country series, you get a sense she isn't far away.
"It's cleverly produced; there a warmth to it," she says. "It's great to meet the stars and fans, but this show isn't about me; it's looking at people from the outside-in, so the narration just fills in the sequences without taking over what's happening on screen.
"A woman stopped me yesterday to say the first episode (about the madcap 'Cowboys and Heroes' festival in Co Leitrim, described as a country music version of Electric Picnic) just made her smile – and that's what it's all about, really.”
A massive fan of GAA, she jokes she was proud to bring back another All-Ireland title to Tyrone after being part of the presenting team of Fleadh TV which won Best Live Event at the Irish Film and Television Awards last year.
"I'm a big Gaelic fan; you have to be, when you're from Tyrone," Fay quips, "but I don't live or die by it. It does give a sense or place though, a sense of belonging, and I see that in the camaraderie of people who attend the country music gigs as well.
"When I'm in the radio studio for my show and its clashes with big matches, I have one eye on the clock and I'll be playing three or four songs in a row so I don't miss the score."
She is currently presenting three radio shows on BBC Radio Ulster – the Blas Ceoil traditional music show on Fridays; eponymous Lynette Fay on Saturdays; and the Sunday Folk Club which she has temporarily taken over from Colm Sands.
And, while in the hot-seat, she does her best to promote up-and-coming Irish bands – perhaps because she was in one and (almost) teetering on the cusp of stardom herself.
As a member of The Originals girl band while a student at St Patrick’s Girls Academy in Dungannon, she almost ‘made’ it... but ended up in radio instead.
“I was a manic phone-in person to radio competitions when I was younger and I was always talking – and being told to keep quiet by teachers – so my mum thought it was sort of inevitable I would end up working in radio,” Fay reveals.
“How it came about though was actually through a singing competition: at school we called ourselves ‘The Originals’ and won the Gael Linn youth arts festival competition Slogadh, in 1994 and 1996.
“We didn’t’ go to do great things like former winners such as the Hot House Flowers and Clannad but it did give good exposure and stage experience and due to it a radio scout spotted me and gave me a trial on the airwaves.”
The rest, as they say, is history – another subject close to her heart and one which led her along the hallowed halls of the National University of Ireland, Galway, to study the subject, along with her beloved Irish which she speaks fluently.
“I am fascinated by Irish history and when I worked on Faoi Gheall ag Eirinn, a recent Irish language documentary about three women from the north – two Catholic, one Protestant – who each had very different roles in the lead-up to the Easter Rising, it combined both passions,” she enthuses.
“Alice Milligan, Elizabeth and Nell Corr were all strong women, incredible really, and they gave up so much and lost so much at the same time.”
In addition to presenting work, Fay is also involved in producing her own programmes and is currently zooming in on Armagh Pipers who celebrate their 50th anniversary this year.
“I have been following them around since last year as you really need to get to know people first before they become natural in front of a television camera,” she explains.
“The Armagh Pipers Club does amazing work and represents another piece of our fascinating history. It was founded by Brian Vallely in 1966 when, unbelievably, uilleann pipes were nearly extinct.”
If it all seems a hectic work schedule – she also immerses herself in charity work, particularly for the Southern Area Hospice – Fay discovered an unexpected release recently through a latent talent for running.
“I can’t believe I didn’t do this before, it’s great fun,” she adds, in surprisingly serious tones.
“I’m out in the fresh air, my music is on ‘shuffle’ and I can listen to all my favourite cheesy songs, sing along and make a complete eejit of myself. There are no cameras about and it doesn’t matter at all.”
:: Keepin 'er' County is broadcast on Mondays on BBC1 at 10.45pm. Next week’s episode features Nathan Carter.
