MacD on Music: Band of Brothers

Last week, I wrote about musical artists with familial names. This week, we’re going to take it a step further and look at bands with actual brothers. History is filled with them, from Creedence Clearwater Revival to Oasis to the Kinks to the Black Crows.

Of course, none of these groups are great advertisements for sharing a stage with family, but this week I’m looking at that rarest of rare things, a group of brothers that are still on good terms.

This week, I’m talking to Ferdia Walsh-Peelo of the Fynches, a group he fronts with his brother Oisín, ahead of their upcoming gig in Sandino’s this Sunday (23rd November).

I spoke with Ferdia about the group and their self-titled debut album (available now in Cool Discs): “I’ve been an actor for ten or eleven years. I’ve been doing that professionally as my career but I came about it through music. My first movie, ‘Sing Street’, was basically a musical. That’s going right back to the beginning of my career.

"That probably does explain a lot, as you get from that film, I was in a band myself and was working towards being a musician, but I was only fourteen. Over the years, I pursued an acting career and my brother and I started hanging out a lot more socially when I did that film.

READ MORE: MacD on Music

"He was actually chaperoning me and I suppose over the following years we started developing a musical relationship where we would play music together and write music together for the craic.”

“We started the Fynches a few years ago as something to do with the songs we were writing. We never necessarily had the intention to actually start a band. A lot of it was just creative experimentation, something we just did together. In the last few years we started this project and two years ago we decided to go for it and make an album of the stuff we’d done over the years.”

“We grew up with a singing mother who was a soprano and a singing teacher. That’s where a lot of the musical influence comes from. We just did our first album and we did everything ourselves. We produced it ourselves and we’re still doing the independent, mad band project which we’re taking on tour.”

Speaking more about the musical influences of the group: “Things aligned when Oisín and I started playing together and actually doing something a bit more serious with the songs we were writing, because I suppose the whole thing when we were writing together was just the joy of the fantasy of how big things can be and how playful things can be with songwriting. Oisín has a lot of folk influence. He plays a lot of traditional music.

"I’m a big fan of folk music too but that’s really his roots. I’m more into rock music and the classic rock stuff. Lennon, McCartney, more along the rock end of things. Where things met were groups like Crosby, Stills & Nash and the Laurel Canyon-type groups. One of the main things we got so much joy out when we’re making music together was harmonies. We grew up singing harmonies together.

"We were nicknamed the Von Trapps because our mother’s a singer and Oisín studied composition so we’d have all these harmony arrangements every Christmas or at family events. Bands like the Beach Boys or Crosby, Stills & Nash were all something we both really shared a huge interest in.”

Next, I asked him his thoughts on other brother-based groups, starting with The Lemon Twigs. “I’ve been following what they’ve been doing for years. I absolutely love them. They were definitely a band I saw that were happening at the moment that made me think there’s room in the market for that kind of music, and young people were attracted to basically ‘70s rock stuff. I’ve spent so many years wishing I was in the ‘70s, in the punk rock scene.”

“It’s not very reassuring when you look at a lot of bands who are brothers because a lot of the time they fall apart. You can see how that can happen because it adds a layer of intensity, but thankfully Oisín and I get on really well and are also aware that it comes with it’s own challenges.”

MacD on Music: Brothers and Sisters

Killarney’s Junior Brother will be appearing in Sandino’s later this month

Irish trad supergroup BIIRD announces debut Derry show at Nerve Centre

BIIRD will be performing at Nerve Centre in Derry on Friday, May 1, 2026

And that’s it from Ferdia and the Fynches. Their debut album is out now in Cool Discs and they’ll be playing Sandino’s this Sunday. Tickets are available at tickets.ie for £14. Also, if you’ve not seen Ferida in ‘Sing Street’, find it somewhere and watch it now.

Now, onto other business. This Thursday (20th November) will see Pilosa, tessio., Meat Squid and Matthew McG take the stage in Sandino’s for Rock For Palestine. Tickets are £5 with doors at 7. Music is from 8-late for a great cause.

Then, Friday will see The Marra playing the Nerve Centre in a special tribute to the late, great Vinny Cunningham. Tickets are £12 plus booking fee and doors are at 9.

And lastly, new music from Louise DaCosta, who, last month, released her single ‘Miami’ featuring the brilliant Robin T. The song, mixed by the legendary Steve Mac (producer for the likes of Sabrina Carpenter, P!nk, Toni Braxton and many more), the song is the perfect antidote to the usual cold, wet Derry November. It’s available now on all good streaming services.

Finally, time for the socials. Robin T can be found on Instagram @robintmusic, Louise DaCosta @thelouisedacosta, The Marra @themarra_band, Pilosa @pilosa_music, tessio. @tessio__, Meat Squid @meatsquidband, Matthew McG @matthew_music25 and The Fynches @thefynches.