The Henry Girls: “It’s part of our responsibility to be a voice for female history. We proudly take that position.”

Music
14 Mar 24

Photo: Sarah Ward

Donegal sibling folk group The Henry Girls discuss the importance of being from Donegal – and their stunning new album, A Time To Grow.

The Henry Girls formed in the early 2000s. Hailing from Donegal, the three McLaughlin sisters are masters of hypnotic harmonies. They are also virtuoso musicians. Playing fiddle, ukulele, banjo, guitar, harp and more, the group produce a warm folk sound, that’s laced with Americana. Named after their grandfather, to date they have recorded five albums, including their latest, A Time To Grow.

There is a tranquil aspect to the record that offers a kind of escape from the modern world. What’s more, every track tells a self-contained story.

“There’s a song about a break-up from me,” Lorna says, “and Joleen has a song about bringing new life into the world – her daughter Sarah. There’s a little lullaby at the end. There’s also a story about women, ‘Ighnidhne na hEireann’ (‘Daughters Of Ireland’). There are so many different themes. It’s a little snapshot of us three at this particular time in our lives.”

“There is a song called ‘Not Your Fight’, and it’s got Ríoghnach Connolly on there,” adds Carole. “At the time I met Ríoghnach, it was after Lyra McKee was shot in Derry.”

“We were in total shock and that was in our minds when we were writing the song,” Karen says. “It’s that idea that there are people who just want to tell a story. Lyra McKee was someone who was totally and utterly innocent, who was not involved in any of that conflict. That can relate to so many things now, especially with what’s now going on in Palestine – it’s always the innocent people who are left suffering. It’s never the people who are causing the conflict.”

That said, A Time To Grow is not an album that will send you spiralling into depression. In Karen’s words, the over-arching sentiment is that, “We can get through these things because there’s always hope.”

Recording of the album began during Covid, when the trio wrote the title track – a song about the tentative early emergence from lockdown. It was at this stage that the band approached long-time friend Tommy McLaughlin of Attica Studios, known for producing SOAK, Niamh Regan and Pillow Queens.

“Pre-Covid, we talked about working with him on an album, because we had been to his studio to work on another project,” Karen explains. “We just loved his studio. It’s such a beautiful location, really picturesque. It is a modern and well-designed building, so we were keen to record with him.

“The other thing is that we are all living in the northwest,” Karen adds. “Myself and Joleen are based in Derry and Lorna is based in Malin – I mean, that’s only over the road from Tommy. It took us maybe half-an-hour or 40 minutes to get there. In some ways, it was good because it gave us a lot more freedom, but we ended up taking a long time, because we were here and there. The only thing that could have been better was the time management!”

Lorna also loved the studio. “It’s a good environment for musicians,” she says. “You have the beautiful scenery and all that. It’s kind of different if you are from here, though, because your family are here as well. So it’s not as quiet as it is for visiting musicians.”

Being from Donegal is, of course, a good thing in itself! “The three of us still absolutely love Donegal and are so proud to be from here,” Lorna beams. “It’s definitely informed our music. You can really hear it. The music scene here is pretty healthy, so it does feel like one big family. Especially in Inishowen – we’d know all the music heads. We found it really funny last week, because on the front cover of Hot Press was sign crushes motorist. I saw that cover and went, ‘I recognise that face – he’s from Buncrana!’”

He is indeed! As it happens, Liam McKay – the young fella who is also known as sign crushes motorist (among other alter egos) – was in an Inishowen community music project alongside The Henry Girls.

“There was an orchestra formed and also a choir of 130,” says Lorna. “Every musician we knew was in that project, and Liam McKay was one of those. He played the fiddle. Isn’t that really nice? That he’s so interested in his traditional music as well as doing his own thing, which is very contemporary.”

Photo: Sarah Ward

Which begs the question – do the sisters prefer performing traditional numbers or their own material?

“With traditional music, you have a catalogue you can put your own stamp on,” Joleen reflects. “That’s really nice, because you can bring your own style into it. Then with your own compositions, it’s a blank canvas. I kind of like both. Sometimes I would veer towards arranging and so on, because there’s less pressure.”

A few days before the interview, Joleen actually performed on a 300-year-old chair, once owned by legendary harpist Turlough O’Carolan, at the Hot Press Brigid 1500 event, She Moves Through The Fair. The event saw The Henry Girls share the Kildare Cathedral stage with fellow Donegal woman Moya Brennan, as well as Loah, Brinda Irani and Lisa Lambe. The concert was centred around folk songs about Irish women – something the McLaughlins are well versed in.

“I think there’s such a shift,” says Lorna. “Maybe I’m wrong, but there’s so much female folk. Now, we have this new St Brigid’s Day bank holiday, and there’s lots more gender balance. It feels like it’s becoming normalised. When I was watching the Grammys the other day, I was going, ‘Oh my god, are there any men?’ (laughs).

“I see us as growing into what we’re doing more and more,” she adds. “We never thought of ourselves like that, because we are sisters – but we are an all-female group. It’s part of our responsibility to be a voice for female history. We proudly take that position.”

“In some ways,” Karen says, “you do what you do without thinking too much. As well as referring to women in history, we are just writing as women. It’s from our point of view. It’s our feelings and thoughts.”

The Henry Girls’ Irish tour: