Niamh Beatrix

16-year-old South African–Irish singer-songwriter Niamh Beatrix Smith is still at the beginning of her musical story, but it has already taken her from writing songs under experienced mentorship to stepping onto some remarkable stages.

In 2026, Niamh was chosen as East Coast FM’s New Local Hero for Hotpress's Irish Music Month, becoming one of the youngest station winners to progress to the national stage of the competition.

Niamh released her first original song, “Irish Lad,” at just 12 years old, receiving high praise for the release and marking the beginning of her journey as a songwriter. Since then, she has performed at the 2026 BCMA Showcase, broken into the HotDisc UK Top 10, and begun working with acclaimed Irish musician and producer Cian Boylan at Camden Recording Studios in Dublin, where she is continuing to develop her own sound and identity as a songwriter.

Her music has received airplay across Ireland and South Africa, including RTÉ Radio 1, FM104, Beat, RSG, JacarandaFM and PretoriaFM, where she achieved a No.1 radio chart position.

At just 14, Niamh was selected to sing the South African national anthem alongside the Irish Army Band at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, performing in front of 40,000 people at the Ireland v South Africa international, broadcast to a global audience.

She was also a Top 3 finalist in Junior Eurovision Éire, Ireland’s national selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.

Her music and story have been featured by Hot Press, SPIN, Jamsphere and Rolling Stone en Español.

But behind the milestones is a young songwriter who is drawn to the things that are harder to put into words: growing up, love, loss, belonging and the small moments that can mean far more than they appear to. There is a tenderness to the way Niamh writes, alongside a voice that is becoming increasingly her own.