Opinion
20 Jun 20

Irish Women in Harmony for Safe Ireland: Stephanie Rainey on the gender gap in music

In our next Q&A, Cork native Stephanie Rainey raises important questions about why it's been so difficult for female Irish musicians to be heard.

When Cork singer-songwriter Stephanie Rainey released a music video for her song ‘Please Don’t Go’ on Facebook, the doors to a music industry she had spent over a decade trying to break into flew open. The video – which garnered a million hits in the first 24 hours – went instantly viral.

Because of this, Rainey knows that the power of the Internet makes it completely possible for Ireland to house female superstars. “The songs are there,” she says passionately. “We need to see more Irish women headlining the 3 Arena. There is absolutely no reason why it can’t happen. If you’re getting minimal support from the people that can make you or break you, then you’re stuck in a frustrating (and extremely expensive - because of what it costs to try to get heard) loop that’s just not sustainable. Every other country is producing female superstars - when did Ireland stop doing that? There is so much talent - it just needs the focus. We need support.”

This is part of the reason Rainey was so eager to participate on the Irish Women in Harmony track. Camaraderie between women is something rarely depicted in the music industry – more often than not, we’re actually pitted against each other, whether we work behind the scenes or on the stage. “I felt a huge sense of relief that there was some solidarity and a voice for female artists in Ireland,” she says.

And this is an area where each of the women agree Dolores O’Riordan played a huge role. For Rainey, not only is O’Riordan’s voice second to none – ”you realise that when you try to sing one of her songs” – she was also a trailblazer. “She is proof that an Irish female artist can get to those stages, can reach those heights and that’s important as a woman in this industry.

“Representation is a difficult topic to broach at times, because you never want to seem ungrateful or even petty by being frustrated by the gender gap in the industry, but it is real and it needs to be talked about. This project is the start of something powerful and I hope that the message is understood in the right way. I hope it is taken on board.”

Watch 'Dreams' below.