The Point of Everything

Flynn Johnson released his debut album The Green Box Theory via Golden Éire Records on November 7. It's a concept record about place, memory and everyday decision-making in mid-to-late 2000s Dublin 15. The project treats the estate's green electricity box as a meeting point, memorial and recurring narrator, tracing the "children of the hill" as they learn to find beauty in a place many people describe as broken. In this interview, Flynn Johnson talks through his journey as a young rapper from Blanchardstown, exploring the duality of his hometown and the responsibility he feels to inspire the next generation. He reflects on the evolution of Irish hip hop, the collaborative energy of Golden Éire Records, and the guiding influence of his mentor ROC. We start off by talking about the closing track on the album, '4Eva', which acts as a manifesto for his community, grounding his music in authenticity, history, and pride. Buy The Green Box Theory: https://flynnjohnson.bandcamp.com/album/the-green-box-theory

Maykay returns to the TPOE podcast to discuss her self-titled debut solo album, released October 10 via Grainstore Records. Known for fronting Fight Like Apes, she’s also spent years collaborating with Le Galaxie, Elaine Mai, DJ Kormac, Jerry Fish, and appears on the forthcoming third album from Ailbhe Reddy. You might also know her as a co-presenter of Other Voices. In this conversation, she gets into the creative process behind the album she made during lockdown and held onto for a couple of years - a record she describes as the soundtrack to both the most trivial and the most painful moments of her life. We talk about the realities of the music industry, pushing through self-doubt, finding her own sound with the help of Ian McFarlane (Squarehead, Tieranniesaur, Cruel Sister), and we break down a couple of tracks on the record as well. Buy the album at https://maykay.bandcamp.com/album/maykay Maykay plays a full-band show in Whelan’s on December 18. Tickets: https://www.whelanslive.com/event/maykay/

Dublin/Galway guitar band Adore released their debut EP Biter on September 26 via Big Scary Monsters. Lara Minchin and Naoise Jordan Cavanagh. We talk about the transition from the remnants of their previous band to starting Adore with the premise of having it be fun, what it's like pitching to labels and playing London showcases, the Galway and Cork music scenes, working with producer Daniel Fox, and we talk through some of the songs on the EP. Adore play the Button Factory, Dublin, on Saturday, November 29. Tickets: https://singularartists.ie/show/adore-25/ Buy Biter: https://adore4.bandcamp.com/album/biter

ispiní na hÉireann release their second album Poxtail Soup on Friday, November 21, via Faction Music. The lineup features Tomás Mulligan (lead vocals, guitar), Paahto Cummins (vocals, banjo), Pádraig Óg Mac Aodhagáin (saxophone, uilleann pipes, flute), Aongus MacAmhlaigh (vocals, cello, fiddle), and Declan Gillen (drums, bodhrán, pad). Tomás, Paahto and Declan join for a chat in the backroom of the Cobblestone Bar in Smithfield, Dublin, to chat through lineup changes, the band taking things more seriously since their debut Hard Working Men in 2022, touring, Temple Bar, collaborating with How to Gael's Doireann Ní Ghlacáin, giving up alcohol, and lots more. ispiní na hÉireann tour dates: November 21: Bank Lane, Waterford (Official Album Launch Night) November 22: DeBarra’s, Clonakilty November 26: 30 min set at Spindizzy, Dublin (signing + meet & greet) November 28: The Commercial, Limerick November 29: Gleneagle, Killarney Buy the album: sausagesofireland.com irishmusicmarket.com

Cork-based band The Altered Hours released their self-titled third album via Pizza Pizza Records on November 7. In this episode, co-frontperson and guitarist Cathal Mac Gabhann talks through the band’s 15-year journey and why this record marks a new chapter - their most collaborative and instinct-led work yet. He discusses recording live to tape at Analogue Catalogue, the musical community that surrounds the group, and the influence of projects such as Elaine Howley’s acclaimed solo work. The conversation reflects on energy, curiosity, and connection - both in the studio and on stage. The Altered Hours live dates: December 10: Whelan’s, Dublin (Main Room) December 12: Live at St Luke’s, Cork December 13: St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church, Galway Album available at thealteredhours.bandcamp.com

Eoghan and Ciara talk new Irish albums: The Altered Hours - The Altered Hours Anamoe Drive - Thank God It's Friday Eamon Brady - Half Light Aoife Ní Bhriain & Cormac McCarthy - Cosán Casta Seán Mac Erlaine & Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh - Old Segotia They discuss recent live shows and the rise of Madra Salach, plus new tracks of the week: Cypress, Mine! - Spellbinding Fred Again.. ft Reggie - Talk of the Town

Cork-based band Ways of Seeing released their second album The Inheritence of Fear on October 10. Singer and guitarist James O'Donnell talks about his long road to the album, from starting out alongside Eoin 'Talos' French a decade and a half ago to Dear Desert before a years-long estrangement from music. We talk about how he came back to music, his health issues such as losing his voice and tinnitus, literature and influences on The Inheritence of Fear. Ways of Seeing play the Kino, Cork, on Friday, November 14. Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ways-of-seeing-album-launch-party-tickets-1773309459329 Buy The Inheritence of Fear: https://waysofseeing.bandcamp.com/album/the-inheritance-of-fear

Dublin producer Rory Sweeney released his second album Old Earth on October 24. Written between Dublin, Manchester, Letterkenny and Sligo, the record draws on Stone Tape Theory - the idea that ghosts and hauntings are echoes imprinted into the land. Old Earth explores memory, history and the esoteric in the information age, and features a stacked cast including RÓIS, Saoirse Miller, Risteárd Ó hAodha, Emby, Emily Beattie, Curtisy, Ahmed With Love, Roo Honeychild and Ushmush, among others. We talk about the Irish Hash Mafia Mixtape, Rory’s creative partnerships, and his ever-evolving production style. Buy Old Earth: https://rory2.bandcamp.com/album/old-earth

Dublin-born, Cork-based artist Laura Elizabeth Hughes released her debut album Knots & Echoes on October 3. Having started out by uploading Lana Del Rey covers to YouTube, Laura released a steady stream of singles over the years, collaborations with Cian '1000 Beasts' Sweeney and co-wrote one of Ireland's entries to Eurovision. It's all led up to her debut album, a blend of spoken word with folk fused lyricism that showcases her delicate vocal harmonies alongside melodies that shimmer with emotion. Knots & Echoes moves through the push and pull of youth and memory, where home is as much an inner landscape as it is the people and places we return to, some of them not being easy places to exist in. These pieces follow the quiet imprints others leave behind, the knots we tie, carry, and slowly work loose, through to the self-reckoning that comes with trying to carve out a space of our own. Connection, loss, and the steady but tentatively open armed shift toward selfhood run through each track; the past shaping the contours of the present for better or worse. Laura is supporting Bell X1 on their winter tour: October 24: Theatre Royal, Waterford October 25: Limetree Theatre, Limerick October 26: Spiegeltent, Wexford November 28: Guildhall, Derry November 29: Mandela Hall, Belfast December 4-5: St Nicholas' Collegiate Church, Galway December 6: Gleneagle Club, Killarney Buy Knots & Echoes: https://lauraelizabethhughes.bandcamp.com/album/knots-and-echoes

Shannon-based rapper God Knows released his debut solo album A Future of the Past on September 26 via Narolane. We talk about his journey from serial collaborator to solo artist - though with his longtime collaborator Murli and his family by his side. He talks about how he has changed - or not since Rusangano Family, his experiences with the music industry that get aired on the record, his family history in Zimbabwe, and lots more. God Knows tour dates: October 24: Mo Cultivation live showcase with Celeveidamai and Jar Jar Jr, The Kino, Cork Jazz Festival October 30: Other Voices Cardigan, Wales Buy A Future of the Past: https://godknows.bandcamp.com/album/a-future-of-the-past Further listening: TPOE 53: Rusangano Family - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/tpoe-53-rusangano-family/id1032886343?i=1000384547117 TPOE 119: God Knows - https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/tpoe-119-god-knows/id1032886343?i=1000428779272 TPOE 231: https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/tpoe-231-god-knows-elaine-howley-f%C3%A9ile-na-gr%C3%A9ine-sweat/id1032886343?i=1000576344123

Eithne Ní Chatháin aka Inni-K released her fourth album Still a Day on September 26 via Green Willow Records. She describes it as her most sweeping and emotionally charged work yet, moving with a deeper gravity and startling clarity. Working with producer Seán Mac Erlaine (synths, woodwinds) and Matthew Jacobson (drums, percussion), Eithne wrote the album in the aftermath of a breakup. She says: “Songs help. These songs really helped me - they accompanied me through a very emotionally difficult time. I wrote this album because I needed to more than anything." It is music stocked with experience and steeped in flow, alive with the invisible direction life takes. On this episode of the TPOE podcast, we talk about the evolution of her sound, the influence of traditional Irish music, the creative process behind Still a Day, touring in Germany, the joy of collaboration, and the importance of artistic freedom. Tour dates: October 9: Ó Riada Hall, UCC, Cork October 10: Sarah Walker Gallery, Castletownbere October 11: Levis' of Ballydehob October 16: Spirit Store, Dundalk October 23: Cleere’s, Kilkenny October 24: The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon October 30: Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge November 6: The Sugar Club, Dublin November 7: The Linenhall, Castlebar November 9: Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray

This special episode of The Point of Everything pays tribute to the late Eoin French aka Talos, who passed away in August 2024 at the age of 36. A brilliant musician, Talos released three albums - Wild Alee in 2017, Far Out Dust in 2019, and Dear Chaos in 2022 - as well as a posthumous EP with Atli Orvarsson called Sun Divider and posthumous album with Olafur Arnalds, entitled A Dawning. He was also part of the Sounds from a Safe Harbour team. At this year’s festival, the opening concert Remembering Talos brought friends, collaborators, and family together at Cork Opera House. In this episode, you’ll hear memories of Eoin and reflections on his artistry from Loah, Christof Van Der Ven, Sam McNicholl, Ye Vagabonds, Nick Raynor, and Brian Dillon. Recorded backstage during rehearsals and in conversation afterwards, these stories capture the impact of Talos’ music and the deep connections he created. Cover pic by Bríd O'Donovan

Eoghan and Cíara talk about Sounds from a Safe Harbour, which took place in Cork over the weekend, preview new albums coming out of Ireland over the new few weeks, plus new track recommendations

Ronan Kealy aka Junior Brother, returns to The Point of Everything to talk about his extraordinary third album The End, released September 5 on Pete Doherty’s Strap Originals label. The album was recorded almost entirely solo, with only a guest appearance from Lankum’s Ian Lynch on Uilleann pipes, but its sound is expansive and band-like, rooted in Irish tradition while reaching into something stranger and more contemporary. In this conversation, Junior Brother reflects on his time in Dublin’s music scene, how folklore and storytelling seep into his songwriting, and the role of collaboration in shaping his work. He also touches on themes of love and life, the visual worlds of his music videos, and the childhood stories that continue to fire his imagination. The result is an album that connects the past and present, the personal and the mythical, into something both timeless and unsettlingly current. The End is available now at juniorbrother.com Junior Brother tour dates: Friday, September 12 – The Pav, Cork (Sounds from a Safe Harbour, Album Launch) Saturday, September 13 – The Grand Social, Dublin (Album Launch) Sunday, September 14 – The Grand Social, Dublin (Album Launch) Saturday, September 21 – Vantastival Festival, Drogheda Friday, October 10 – LASTA Festival, Síamsa Tíre, Tralee Sunday, November 9 – DeBarras Samhain Festival, Clonakilty Thursday, November 14 – Róisín Dubh, Galway Friday, November 15 – Upstairs at Dolan’s Warehouse, Limerick Friday, November 21 – Sandinos, Derry Saturday, November 22 – Open House Festival, Bangor Sunday, November 23 – Spirit Store, Dundalk

TRM (formerly known as The Redneck Manifesto) release their sixth album Grushy via Dublin's Ten Spot Records on Friday, September 5. Comprising seven tracks, they say they found a new creative surge - a different pulse yet from the same wellspring - when making the album. Currently a three piece (though swelling to six when playing live), Niall Byrne, Matty Bolger and Richie Egan have been playing together for nearly 30 years. On the TPOE podcast, Matty and Richie talk about how TRM startted, what the scene in Dublin was like back then, the ideas behind the new album and lots more. Richie and Matty also play in Jape, who is part of the Landmarks series at the NCH on Sunday, September 14, where they will perform in full two albums: The Monkeys in the Zoo Have More Fun Than Me (2004) and Ritual (2008), a Choice Prize-winning album. We talk about those two albums, their influence, Floating, and always looking forward even when you're looking back. Buy Grushy: https://www.tenspotrecords.com/tenspotreleases // https://theredneckmanifesto.bandcamp.com/album/grushy-2 TRM live at Button Factory, Saturday, September 6: https://www.ticketmaster.ie/artist/947174?venueId=198299&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAactxpTMF7l3t-Fx7NJCPLkrC9wOBxK2XJgFfbpG_LFvOUpc6HU_XaQ_ph7Kzw_aem_gdt9d2rmjPluUIbibNWTOA Jape at NCH: Landmarks, Sunday, September 14: https://www.nch.ie/all-events-listing/nch-landmarks-jape-sep25/

Throwing Shapes are Méabh McKenna, Ross Chaney, and Gareth Quinn Redmond who release their self-titled debut album on WRWTFWW on September 5 - a hypnotic, texturally rich exploration in sound. Led by the striking timbre of the Irish wire strung harp, the album weaves intricate instrumental tapestries with ambitious electronic synthesis and arrangements. Eoghan talked to the three members of Throwing Shapes at Another Love Story, discussing ambient music, how they got together, recording the album, the importance of the Irish harp and so much more. Buy the album: https://garethquinnredmond.bandcamp.com/album/throwing-shapes

Recorded live at Love is a Stranger at Ballyvolane House, Co Cork, Eoghan and Cíara induct the first four Irish albums into the TPOE hall of fame. 01:20 Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got 08:20: Two Door Cinema Club - Tourist History 15:10: Gilla Band - Holding Hands with Jamie 23:50: Villagers - Darling Arithmetic

Recorded live at Cork Opera House to mark 30 years since the untimely death of Rory Gallagher, this special episode features Gerry McAvoy — Rory’s longtime bassist and musical companion. Gerry played alongside Rory for 20 incredible years, from the early 70s through to 1991, bringing Irish rock to international stages and sharing bills with the likes of Rush, ZZ Top, and Fleetwood Mac. We trace Rory’s journey from the Belfast music scene to becoming one of Ireland’s most celebrated rock musicians, hear stories from life on the road, and get an intimate, behind-the-scenes portrait of the man behind the music. Packed with memories, humour, and the heart of a partnership that defined an era, this is a must-listen for Rory Gallagher fans and lovers of rock history alike. Thanks to Cork's Feedback Promotions for asking me to do the interview. The Point of Everything will be doing a live show on Sunday morning of Love is a Stranger festival in Ballyvolane House, North Cork, this weekend, August 15-17. Tickets/info: https://anotherlovestory.ie/

Eoghan and Cíara talk about their experience at All Together Now 2025, and two incredible performances by CMAT and Fontaines DC.

Eoghan and Ciara celebrate the 10-year anniversary of The Point of Everything podcast, reflecting on its evolution and some of Eoghan's favourite interviews. Then then preview All Together Now 2025, talking about Fontaines DC and CMAT headlining, plus the emerging Irish acts to look out for, the worst clashes and the best of the rest. Cíara then talks about seeing Billie Eilish headline 3Arena and they finish with tracks of the week. TPOE will be at Love is a Stranger festival on August. 16-17. Tickets/info: https://anotherlovestory.ie/liasbv/