Performers of popular music began appearing as early as the late 1940s ; Delia Murphy popularised Irish folk songs that she recorded for HMV in 1949 ; Margaret Barry is also credited with bringing traditional songs to the fore ; Donegal's Bridie Gallagher shot to fame in 1956 and is considered ' Ireland's first international pop star '; Belfast-born singer Ruby Murray achieved unprecedented chart success in the UK in the mid-1950s ; The Bachelors were an all-male harmony group from Dublin who had hits in the UK, Europe, US, Australia and Russia ; Mary O ' Hara was a soprano and harpist who was successful on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1950s and early 1960s ; Waterford crooner Val Doonican had a string of UK hits and presented his own TV show on the BBC from 1965 to 1986.