It’s been a fast and all-consuming rise for Kingfishr, the Irish trio from Limerick. And yet it’s no surprise that their swift rise to selling out an Australian headline metropolitan tour has come a mere year after the release of their debut album, Halcyon.
It’s safe to say the global response to Kingfishr is quite the phenomenon. Not too long ago, the band were performing for 200 people at the Camden Assembly in London, and this year they have sold 10,000 tickets to their upcoming show at the famed O2 Academy Brixton.
However, if you listen to their music, it’s bound to be as spellbinding as it has been for audiences around the world. The trio behind the project—Eddie Keogh (lead vocals, guitar, harmonica), Eoghan McGrath (banjo, guitar, backing vocals), and Eoin Fitzgibbon (guitar, backing vocals)—have concocted a sound that echoes the tradition of Irish folk, swirled into the relevance of modernity.
The reception of such an expression is apparent in the four-time platinum Killeagh that could quite well be mistaken for the contemporary national anthem of their home country, Ireland. And in light of the flocking crowds, they’ve been garnering in the UK, and the national accumulation of apostles across the Irish sea, the band have been capturing hearts in Australia too.
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But Australia is a long way to journey for a three-piece from Ireland, and yet, given the recent migratory history of Australia, it’s no wonder a band that errs on modern Irish folk is speaking to audiences across the landscape of this country.
Their music, although at times it seems more like an expression of storytelling, is seemingly speaking to the Irish undercurrent of how it is that Australia was formed as a country. And as turbulence sweeps its hands across all corners of the world, Kingfishr are illuminating the tenderness and depth of the human condition, providing an anchoring force for those who collide with their music.
In March just gone, Kingfishr sold out all their shows in Australia, subsequently announcing more due to overwhelming demand, only for those to sell out too.
Much to the surprise of a chattering and lively crowd, Kingfishr invited Matt Corby to join them on stage to perform an alternative take on their newest single release, The Blade. Their latest is a raw recollection of the darkness that masculinity can venture into.
And despite the lyrics that resound ‘And if he can’t find the pen, he can sure find the blade’, as hefty and melancholic as they may be, the song is rounded out with Kingfishr’s quintessential stirring sound that elicits a sense of euphoria. Wrapped up in this song is the broader metaphor for the innateness the band carries as it traverses the fullness of the human experience.
The band themselves have described the track as follows: “[The Blade] as probably as heavy a tune as we’re ever likely to release. It’s not something we ever expected to be writing about, given the seriousness of it all. The song just kind of happened, and we feel it deserves to see the light of day.”
And that’s because of what the song speaks to, a truth that the band isn’t afraid to shy away from. “Lyrically, it leaves little to the imagination nor wrapped within metaphor. This is a song about the turmoil of struggling when you can’t pinpoint what you’re struggling with,” they said.
They continued, “It’s about loneliness when you’re not alone, the sadness when you’re otherwise happy with your lot, and rather than tackling those feelings head on, you lock them in a box and hide it from view. Just another problem for another time.”
For the premiere of the song’s iteration with Corby, the Australian singer-songwriter offered his piercingly resonant vocals for a verse and chorus, adding an extra layer of depth to an already emotive and dynamic track.
The song is now available on all streaming platforms, or wherever you listen to your music. With Corby’s history of sharing vulnerability and wholeness in his music, it’s no wonder this collaboration has come to be. This may just be the beginning of an ongoing entanglement.
Complementing the song is a music video featuring the incredibly talented and award-winning Northern Irish actor Anthony Boyle, best known for his work in House of Guinness, Say Nothing, and Tolkien. The video further amplifies the textured poignancy of the song, pairing the striking song with a mesmerising performance.
The video was directed by an Irish moving image specialist, Seán Mullan, from Derry, whose new Studio Cloncha used the project as a means to emerge into the creative landscape.
Alongside their sold-out, big venue shows, there were whispers that the band performed more secretive, intimate, pop-up shows in the kitchens of people’s houses. Although their music speaks to countless fans around the world, it’s this type of setting that expresses the truth in the folk music they share.
It’s places and environments like this that bring to mind the many aspects that contribute to the notion of story-sharing and folk music. If the lads are to increasingly become more famous globally, it’s a hope this doesn’t get lost in the lights and glamour of it all.
And so, what lies ahead for the three Irish fellas behind Kingfishr is a massive headline run of shows in the UK during the summer festival season before embarking west across the Atlantic to commence a major-city North American tour spanning from Late July to mid-August.
They’ll return to the UK and Ireland with a show at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange in Scotland. From there, the expansiveness of a future spent serenading audiences is all but most likely for a group that has already captivated the world in the short time they’ve been performing and releasing music.
Kingfishr’s debut album, Halcyon, was released in August 2025. The Blade - solo and with Matt Corby - is out now.
