(jubilant Irish music plays) - [Fiachna] On this episode of "Trad Fest: Fingal Sessions", we're delighted to be joined by Liam O Maonlai, Gemma Bradley, Ronan O Snodaigh, and Conor Connolly.

(jubilant music ends in flourish) Woo!

(laughs) You're very welcome to "Trad Fest: The Fingal Sessions".

We're coming to you from the Great Hall in Malahide Castle.

Liam O Maonlai, my longtime friend and Hothouse Flower band mate.

Glad you're up.

(speaking in foreign language), did you ever think, when we were busking, what lay ahead of us?

Did you have a vision of what lay ahead of us at that stage?

- I did, actually.

- [Fiachna] You did?

- Yeah.

I did.

I did.

And I had to have, because I had to tell my dad that this is what I'm gonna do.

I went to my dad one evening, and I said, "Dad, remember I told you I was gonna repeat this year in college?"

And I said, "I'm not gonna.

That's not happening."

I said, "I can see this.

I can see this."

- Does anything come to mind from that time?

That, you know.

- I remember at a certain point, - [Announcer] "Trad Fest: Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

(upbeat Irish music plays) (upbeat music continues) "Trad Fest: Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

- When there was, suddenly, we had to make a record and there was a kind of a pressure to come up with songs and lyrics, and I remember, Well, I remember walking to BlackRock, and in the course of that, the words love don't work this way came into my head.

- I do remember it.

"I've got a song.

I've got a song!"

It was like, urgent, you know?

- And it was great.

And it started with the drums.

♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way And this is the chorus.

♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ When I first met you darling ♪ Everything seemed so fine ♪ Holdin' hands and roses ♪ I really thought you were mine ♪ ♪ Then you started to change honey ♪ ♪ Stopped looking my way ♪ So I thought a lot ♪ Dreamt a lot ♪ Dreamt a lot ♪ Thought a lot and I had to say ♪ ♪ Oh love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ I'm gonna grow my hair ♪ I'm gonna hide my face ♪ I'm gonna call your name ♪ All over the place ♪ I love you darling ♪ You know I do ♪ My whole life ♪ Revolves ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Tired of standing in your shadow ♪ ♪ Only come out after dark ♪ I'm gonna take my proper place now ♪ ♪ I wanna meet you face to face you want love ♪ ♪ You want love ♪ You want love ♪ You want love ♪ You want love ♪ You want love ♪ You want love ♪ You want ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way (piano playing tense melody) ♪ Oh love gonna grow my hair ♪ I'm gonna hide my face ♪ I'm gonna call your name ♪ All over the place ♪ I love you darling ♪ You know I do ♪ My whole life ♪ Revolves around you ♪ Said love don't work this way ♪ ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Uh (funky melody playing) (funky music continues) (funky music continues) (funky music continues) ♪ Oh love ♪ Don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way (piano playing softly) ♪ Mm ♪ Gonna grow my hair ♪ Gonna hide my face ♪ I'm gonna call your name ♪ All over the place ♪ I love you darling ♪ You know I do ♪ My whole life ♪ Revolves 'round you ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way ♪ Love don't work this way (piano note softly fades) - Yes.

(laughs) Great.

That way great.

Great open.

(speaking in foreign language), Mr. Ronan, for powering us along there.

(chuckling) - Yeah.

- Gemma Bradley, great to see you.

- Thanks so much for having me.

- A little bit like myself.

You make music, and you also present music.

You kind of, you know, you're on the radio as well.

How are you finding that process, and the kind of the, - Yeah, I love it.

- [Fiachna] The give and take between the two, you know?

- Yeah.

I think, for me, they kind of go hand in hand.

I love discovering new music.

I love writing music.

And even being here with all of you is incredible for me.

I'm just caught up in that moment.

That last song, I didn't want it to end.

(all chuckle) - Nor did we.

- Me neither.

(all laugh) - But honestly, it's so much fun.

So yeah, it's really been great.

They go great together.

- I know you've got a song called "Berserk".

- I do.

- [Fiachna] And will you talk to me a little bit about that?

- Yeah.

For me, "Berserk" was one of those ones.

It was when I was living in Dublin at the time, 'cause I studied down in Dublin for music, actually.

Songwriting.

I feel like that song just flowed out of me.

It wasn't like there was loads of thought at the time, but then I realized it was kind of a way for me to process things that I was going through at the moment, and it was time for me to kind of take my own stride and, you know, wash off other people's, like, opinions and things like that.

So for me it was kind of therapeutic without realizing it.

- Yeah.

- So, yeah, it's a little bit about how that song came to life.

- It's an amazing process, isn't it?

- Yeah.

It's so much fun.

It really is.

- Would you like to do it for us?

- Yeah.

I'll play "Berserk" for you.

- Brilliant.

- It's always a fun one to play at gigs.

Usually do this as my last song.

- Okay.

- Wanna play this well.

This is "Berserk".

(guitar strumming) ♪ Why you saying ♪ That friends is gonna work ♪ Different lives different people ♪ ♪ Is driving me berserk ♪ Berserk ♪ They strike at the strife ♪ I didn't sign up for ♪ This double-leaded life ♪ Act as I don't try ♪ Give me grief ♪ Another perfect lie ♪ Who do you think you are ♪ Who do you think you are ♪ I don't owe you any any anything ♪ ♪ Owe you any any anything ♪ Don't act like you don't see it too ♪ ♪ I've been feeling this way feeling this way ♪ ♪ I don't owe you any any anything ♪ ♪ Today ♪ Ba-da-da-da-da-da ♪ This freight train crisis ♪ Its time to crash and burn ♪ I wonder what the price is ♪ When you gonna learn yeah ♪ I reel more control on ♪ Glad we're finally through ♪ Can't waste another second on you anymore ♪ ♪ Anymore ♪ Who do you think you are ♪ Who do you think you are ♪ I don't owe you any any anything ♪ ♪ Owe you any any anything ♪ Don't act like you don't see it too ♪ ♪ I've been feeling this way feeling this way ♪ ♪ I don't owe you any any anything ♪ ♪ Today ♪ Today ♪ Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da ♪ Today ♪ Ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da ♪ Today ♪ I don't owe you any any anything ♪ ♪ Owe you any any anything ♪ Don't act like you don't see it too ♪ ♪ I've been feeling this way feeling this way ♪ ♪ I don't owe you any any anything ♪ ♪ Owe you any any anything ♪ Owe you any any anything ♪ Don't act like you don't see it too ♪ ♪ I've been feeling this way feeling this way ♪ ♪ I don't owe you any any anything ♪ (laughs) (musicians applaud) - Beautiful.

- [Ronan] That's great.

- Great.

Thanks, Gemma.

- Thank you.

- Great.

Thanks for letting us play along.

- Thank you for playing along.

(laughs) - Ronan, your a body of works.

There's there 10 Kila albums?

- Mm.

Yeah, possibly.

- Is there five film soundtracks?

- Possibly.

- And there's about nine solo albums.

- Possibly.

- Where does all that come from?

- A friend of mine, this is a funny thing to say.

Well, I generally just say, whilst I'm in conversation, A friend of mine, Myles, turned around to me at a gig and he went, "Do you know what?

I've just been diagnosed ADHD."

And I went, "Of course."

You know, he did not know that years ago?

Like, aren't we all?

And then went, "Like, that's for people who aren't creative.

They're doing it, though.

People who are creative," And he coined the phrase himself a few months ago.

It's called a compulsive creative.

- Yeah.

- I'll tell you what, I want to medicate the kids who like school.

They're the ones I'm worried about.

- Yeah.

Because when you're creating, it's not a disorder.

It's like a restlessness, and it's a beautiful restlessness if you're in with it.

- Oh, it's a life source.

Right?

- I got lost a while ago when I was away.

- When was that one?

- I was in Sweden, and I couldn't make sense of anything.

And I suppose I covered up hurt with rage, and that's what I've done most of my life, you know?

So everyone thinks I'm, you know, made of hardcore material 'cause I, you know, bang me chest a lot, and so, what was happening in there was like the opposite of a volcano, 'cause I was trying to not do my usual, have a big palaver.

So, to "Tip Toe".

Mm.

(guitar playing soft, uplifting tune) (piano playing along with guitar) ♪ Tip toe through tireless peace ♪ ♪ Come and go leave your toys and sweets ♪ ♪ If I had a place you could visit me ♪ ♪ Read fairy tales play hide and go seek ♪ ♪ Cliff faces are far too steep ♪ ♪ Even though we try to smile through our teeth ♪ ♪ Our shadows are still out on the street ♪ ♪ My skin still as white as a sheet ♪ ♪ Our time is short and fleet ♪ Empty pockets trick or treat ♪ But hey soldier please have a seat ♪ ♪ You're only alive while you're on parked feet ♪ ♪ And there will always be wolves among the sheep ♪ ♪ But what's left of the earth will be plowed by the meek ♪ ♪ Plowed by the meek ♪ Meek ♪ By the meek (guitar strumming and accordion playing) ♪ Tip toe through tireless peace ♪ ♪ Come and go leave your toys and sweets ♪ ♪ When I have a place come to visit me ♪ ♪ Read fairy tales play hide and go seek ♪ ♪ And go seek ♪ And go seek ♪ And go seek ♪ And go seek ♪ Oh ♪ Oh ♪ Oh (vocalizing harmoniously) (vocalizing continues) (vocalizing continues) ♪ Oh - Holly.

Thanks, Ronan.

Thanks for doing that, and thanks for telling us about that story.

It's a raw story, you know?

It's a expert.

- Yeah.

- [Fiachna] Thanks for sharing it.

- Maybe it's how I go through life, like I'm only just learning.

I've been busy doing, like you said, I've done this body of work.

I've been so busy, and now I'm going, "Alright, I'm 53," so for me, 50 is halftime.

That's it.

I'm done.

That's halftime.

Now I'm coming down the hill in the graph.

I go up and down, so I'm coming down, and I'm trying to be really responsible and responsive to the fact that I've been given a good 50 up.

- [Fiachna] Yeah.

- [Ronan] Do you know?

- [Fiachna] Yeah, yeah.

But listen.

But in every match, there's extra time.

(all laugh) So you can count on that.

- Good!

- Is there a rematch?

- There can be rematches, too.

Depending on your belief.

Anything is possible.

Anything is.

- Good.

I like the rematch.

- The rematch!

- [Ronan] Replay!

- Maybe this is the rematch.

(laughs) - Yeah, the replay.

- Could be.

- Conor Connolly.

Great playing on that.

It's gorgeous to hear your voice coming through on that for the first time with all of us here.

And yeah, delighted that you're here, and that we can, - Thank you very much for having me.

- [Fiachna] Chat to you, first of all.

Let's chat to you about what you're gonna share with us today.

Tell us a little bit about how you got into music.

What were the sparks that lit your fire?

- In our primary school anyway, it was kind of compulsory to play with, Like most people, anyway.

And out of a like, class of maybe 30, you know, there were kind of maybe four or five of us in the class that kind of liked it, and it's great when you're younger.

A small bit of encouragement goes a long way, and one of my teachers at the time that was teaching us the music kind of knew that I liked it because I wasn't very much into GA or anything.

They knew that I wasn't great at it.

- (speaking in foreign language) - Yeah.

Fast forward a small bit, yeah.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah?

Still oak, though.

- Yeah.

(both laugh) Yeah, yeah.

No, what a tremendous honor.

Grew up watching the Grantham Keough, and all the people that I would've looked up to, - For example?

Who are you looking up to?

- Charlie Harris won it back in 2009, and Charlie lives up the road from me at home, so I had like, a great role model there from kind of young teens to mid-teens and stuff, and a lot of people like Phiernough Mongan, and yeah.

It's kind of funny.

All kind of musicians that I know now and get to play tunes with, so yeah, it's kind of mad, the way things turn out, but it's great, kind of, the way it developed, yeah.

- Yeah.

- Yeah.

What did you give us?

- Gonna try two reeves I learned off Grace Piper who was, I think, was born in Boston, but from Carna Pierce, and Piper called Sean McKiernan.

I got these off a recording of his, just a private recording that was made.

First one is called "The Gardener's Daughter", and the second one is called "Dillon Browne".

Thanks.

Great.

(accordion playing upbeat music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (drum joins in with music) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - Woo!

(upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (piano joins in with accordion) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) (upbeat music continues) - [Announcer] "Trad Fest: Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

(jubilant, upbeat Irish music) (upbeat music continues) "Trad Fest: Fingal Sessions" was funded by Fingal County Council.

(upbeat woodwind music plays) (soft whooshing) (upbeat tune plays)