Áine Tyrrell’s radical acts of defiance

ÁINE Tyrrell is a formidable artist known for her powerful stage presence and plain speaking. Tweed audiences experienced her vibrant Irish as F*** tour at The Regent in 2024. Her new People Like Me and You tour has begun ahead of a new album release later this year.

The dynamic performer is unexpectedly soft-voiced in person. Her gentle Irish lilt speaks with a quiet ferocity about her role as an artist and how deeply it runs.

“Art reflects the times we’re living in, and you can’t extract yourself from that,” she said.

“Like the global financial crisis in Ireland, and like domestic violence, it’s all a product of what we’re living in. It wasn’t a conscious decision to be a DV advocate. It’s just me responding to what I’ve lived and the life we’re trying to create.

“My dad is a musician, and I grew up with a powerful sense of art and storytelling as a vehicle for change. He always used his music to speak for causes. It’s how I grew up.

“It’s part of our culture – art, music, poetry, and writing are a means of documenting our stories and reaching for something better.

The artist, musician, mother, survivor and advocate decamped from Ireland’s west coast to Australia over a decade ago. In a 1966 Bedford, with three children, Tyrrell travelled the country, and after playing at Mullum Music Festival in 2017, never left the region.

Her inadvertent DV activism has broadened into resource packs, workshops, mentoring and public speaking. Alongside her music, Tyrrell’s mission is to bring people with her in healing trauma through art.

“I found so much healing in art and music, and I wouldn’t be as strong or where I am now without it,” she said.

“The early songs on my first album were veiled and metaphorical. But now, with this album, I’m not afraid to say how it is, and the more direct you are, the more people resonate with your message.

“We all have similar stories; it doesn’t matter what level of trauma we’ve been through, whether it’s a big fear or a small one, we’ve all got stuff that stands in our way.”

Her forthcoming album, Mise Eire, translating as ‘I am Ireland’ has its own backstory.

“Sinead O’Connor has always been a beacon against the ‘just be quiet, don’t ruffle the feathers’ thing. I also wanted to send a message back down the line.

“I’ve stayed in the music industry through trial and tribulation and as an act of defiance. Survivor stories, especially women’s stories of empowerment, are so few.

“I wrote an article for the ABC about Sinead. We had met a few times, and she thanked me for the piece. Then she retweeted it and wrote Mise Eire alongside.

“The stories of those of us that leave to come here, who are never really Australian – we’re in this weird in-between place. This album is about that – that we are Ireland, but we’re also of the places where we are, and for me, that’s Bundjalung country.”

Tyrell will tour Mise Eire through the region in coming months and is playing a three-month residency at Timbre in Lismore from February 7. For tickets, visit events.humanitix.com/aine-tyrrell-n5chmpcr