Coordinates: 43°15′29″N 1°13′57″W / 43.2581°N 1.2325°W / 43.2581; -1.2325

Irissarry (Basque: Irisarri) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in south-western France.

It is located in the former province of Lower Navarre.

Niko Etxart is a Basque singer-songwriter and musician born in 1953 in Altzürükü, Soule (Southwest of France). He's widely reputed in the Basque area for being a forerunner of Basque rock and bridging the gap between Basque old tradition and modern music trends.

Niko Etxart was born in Aussurucq. When he was two years old, his parents moved to Paris. However, unlike many others, he received the Basque language and culture as a child, in particular through the Basque centre in Paris. When he left school in 1972, his only wish was to be a singer. By this year he founded a group named Tinka with two other friends.

After living in Paris since his early childhood, moved out in 1974 to the rural land of his parents in Soule with brand new ideas about music, taking up rock and roll and singing in Basque. He put together the band Minxoriak in 1976 without giving up his solo career as a musician, so besides working with the band till the mid-80s, Etxart staged performances on his own as well as releasing various albums. Some of his songs have attained considerable popularity both in the Spanish and French Basque Country.