No One’s Doing it Like the Irish
- Rebecca Tregaskis
- Apr 4
- 3 min read
by Rebecca Tregaskis
Music created by Irish artists has always held a certain uniqueness. Irish musicians have a bite to them, unflinching in their raw portrayal of identity, belonging and the individual experience. From acts like The Cranberries, whose songs have rolled through decades, to singers like Sinead O’Connor who was unapologetically bold in her art, Ireland has produced era defining musicians. Now, the country is having its moment again with a fresh wave of talent crashing onto the global stage.
Ireland has always been a country whose culture is buried in storytelling. Its history and identity is preserved in folklore, myths, and the native language. This oral tradition has tangled itself into their arts. There is a certain way Irish authors, poets, and artists can twist reality into words. From the ‘gift of the gab’ to raising literacy greats such as Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett, attention-grabbing storytelling is almost instinctual. So, it’s no wonder this talent is found in their music scene.
Acts such as CMAT and Fontaines D.C. have stepped into the global spotlight. Both have received Mercury Prize and BRIT award nominations. Fontaines D.C are two-time winners of the International Group BRIT Award and three times Grammy nominated artists. Both these artists in particular root their music in the Irish experience, echoing how Ireland is a country that holds tightly onto their past and proudly onto their national identity.
CMAT blends country and pop with sharp lyricism, webbing in humour as she goes. But she also has songs that hook in the chest and leave an ache. EURO-COUNTRY details the Irish experience after the Celtic Tiger era, particularly from her viewpoint as a child growing up in that time. CMAT perfectly balances the longing for a better future while feeding into the despair of the past. There’s an acknowledgement of how colonialism and financial collapse in the country has fundamentally shaped her.
Fontaines D.C carry the same weight in their art, blurring the lines between music and literature. Sonically post-punk, they drag you into a heavy atmosphere that builds the foundations of their stories. Their songs unfold into spoken-word poetry that ignite Ireland’s poetic tradition while having a modern edge. In particular, ‘I Love You’ embodies this storytelling, with the narrative following an Irishman immigrating from Ireland and grappling with simultaneous pride and disillusionment – he recognises his identity within the culture while also questioning the country’s political climate. It’s this story-centred music that allowed Fontaines D.C to grab onto global stardom and helped shine a light on the Irish music scene as a whole.
The roots of this surge can be found in Ireland's more recent prosperity. The domestic music scene has become more self-sustaining with Irish artists tripling their presence in the country’s top 100 songs within a year. The recognition of new talent in Ireland has created momentum in the movement. Irish artists are no longer emerging in isolation but rather
within a scene that has global visibility. Success is feeding success and the more traction the Irish music scene gets, the more individual artists can pull from that and curate their own audience.
The scene is filled to the brim with skillful artists across all genres. You'll find bands such as Bleech 9:3, whose debut single ‘Ceiling’ grapples with themes of addiction, loss and grief set underneath a guitar riff that always seems to be chasing the song. Alongside them are Florence Road, an up-and-coming band that add diaristic lyrics to an expansive, melodic soundscape. Then there’s Basht who sink into the indie rock genre and emit tension within every song, while Madra Salach, which translates to ‘dirty dog’, can submerge their audience into a modern folk sound. Within the rap scene KhakiKid is a standout meanwhile in the alt-pop genre SPIDER, is bold in her approach to adolescence. Artists from the north are also witnessing a surge in interest, with bands like Esmeralda Road and Dea Matrona steadily gaining traction.
The string that threads through each of these musicians is that they tell their stories so beautifully. In an industry that seems so manufactured at times, the Irish music scene has found its identity in authenticity. Their artists have an ability to pursue themes in such brutal honesty that they can’t help but draw people in. Soaking their music in storytelling and pulling your heart out while they do it.
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