The Labourers - On Our Radar Q&A: "The Pogues had such an influence on our lives"

Having played in England, how does the folk scene compare to Ireland?

I compare it to the difference between English and Irish pubs. In Irish pubs, you can have a conversation with people. One thing I didn’t enjoy about London is everyone’s so loud; they scream across each other.

I think that shows how Irish people are a bit more inter-personal – they come out to talk. The trad scene in London is fun; there’s always something on, it’s very inviting. But pints are expensive, and we wouldn’t have been able to experience it unless we played a few songs.

One of our best memories is from The Ramble Inn; they have a trad session, and it’s like meeting up in a GAA club. I never met a single English person there.

Why go down the folk-punk route?

It’s who we are as people; I grew up in the Comhaltas and céilí bands. Michael likes the ballady stuff, and then Ewan’s more into rock. Our drummer Dylan is probably one of Ireland’s premium metal drummers. It’s a combination of all our personalities.

You’ve been compared to The Pogues and The Dubliners – does that resonate with you?

The Pogues had such an influence on our lives. Michael’s father was in the Rapscallions; The Pogues heavily influenced them. Rum, Sodomy & The Lash is one of the greatest albums in my opinion.

These bands have such an influence on the world. I was in a pub in Norway, and there was a picture of The Dubliners on the wall – they somehow ended up on the tippity-top of Norway. That shows the influence. We’re not breaking any ground, they already did it for us.

What can we expect in the future?

We have a large body of work coming out in January. Next year is very big for us. We have a few songs we’ve played live that I can’t wait to release. We’re a very small band, so we rarely get to say big things are coming!

• The Labourers’ new single ‘One Long Goodbye’ is out now.