Partially Sighted Teenager Launches First Official EP

THE father of a self-taught teenage music producer who is partially sighted, has said that his 16 year old son ‘deserves to shine’.

- Caoimhe Hegarty

Magherafelt man, Greg O’Hagan made the comment following the release of his son Joe’s first official EP at the weekend.

For the past number of years, Joe, who is registered blind, has been experimenting with different sounds, producing his own music using a variety of software programmes on his iPad.

More recently though, Joe, a pupil of St Mary’s Grammar School, has been delving deeper into using hardware synths, drum machines and effects.

He has received moderate success to date and some of his material has even been played on local radio stations. However at the weekend, Joe took the brave step and launched his debut EP called ‘Shine.’

When listening to Joe’s tracks, one could forget his young age. It’s also easy to forget that behind these unique sounds, is a teenage boy, who suffers from an extremely rare eye condition.

When Joe was just three years-old, his parents were told the devastating news that their little boy had achromatopsia. As a result, Joe has 20 per cent less vision than someone with average vision. He is also completely coloured blind, seeing only black, white and grey.

His father Greg admitted that Joe’s diagnosis was difficult for him and his wife Mary to accept, but Joe has never let his disability hold him back.