Hugh P and Maria strike a chord with thousands online with their 'Musical Christmas Countdown Advent-ure'

Hugh P. and Maria Doherty, from Buncrana, have been uploading a short music video each day on social media in the run-up to Christmas.

It has become a huge hit and ignited fabulous festive spirit and joy.

Speaking to the Journal, the pair revealed where the idea came from.

"Well, we wanted to put up a couple of Christmas videos to try and bring people into the meaning of Christmas. It can be a hard time for some people, maybe they’re feeling lonely or maybe it’s just so busy – all about shopping and it’s hard to get into the feeling of what Christmas is really all about! So, instead of doing a couple we thought: “You know what would be nice? A lovely Countdown where we do one every day.

Maria joked that they ‘didn’t realise’ what they were taking on, as it has become so popular and they are ‘flat out’.

But, she added: “We’re so happy that we’re doing it. People really seem to be getting a lot of joy out of it.”

And, people are enjoying the magical, musical countdown. The duo have received many comments from all around the world, telling them how the music has brought them smiles and peace this Christmas Season.

They have received messages of love and enjoyment from Japan, Canada, Australia and, of course, all over Ireland.

Comments include: “Forget chocolate advent calendars- just give me a Hugh P. & Maria Christmas song every morning and I’ll be the happiest person on the planet!”, or “Thank you dearly for sharing something so genuine and joyful, and for making music feel like home!”.

Hugh P. and Maria are multi-instrumentalists, both playing a variety of instruments which feature on their Advent Series, the guitar, piano, whistles, accordian and more.

Maria added: “We wanted to bring people some Christmas cheer and joy!”

And this they certainly have, with videos recorded in many different settings like the beautiful Red Door Country House and Wild Ireland, where Maria is even spotted feeding some reindeer.

It has been a big year for the duo, as they also celebrated winning an incredible three awards at a ceremony in Holland. They were honoured with accolades for ‘Extraordinary Voices Duo’, ‘Gospel Duo’ and ‘Wedding Songs Duo’ at the Red Carpet awards and also performed on the night. They closed the show by performing two of their songs, ‘A Living Prayer’ and ‘I Heard the Bluebirds Sing’.

Hugh and Maria also recently began presenting a Radio Show every Sunday at 4pm on “Radio Maria” where they play a selection of Gospel songs intertwined with chat and requests.

To get your share of Christmas spirit and to be uplifted by these sweet, musical treats for your ears this Advent, check out the guys on Social Media: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Search Hugh P and Maria Doherty.