Caodan Connolly (Croíthe)

Words: Matthew Madigan

For anyone discovering Croíthe for the first time, how would you describe the band's sound?

I'd say gritty, vulnerable and hypnotising.

From your first single, "The Kiss” to now recording your second EP, how do you think Croíthe’s sound has developed?

I think we’ve definitely gotten more comfortable as musicians and writers, and for me, as a lyricist and singer. I've gotten more comfortable writing about certain topics and personal experiences, and not feeling embarrassed to do so. I'm definitely more comfortable as a singer, and our sound is more refined, and we're pushing more boundaries that we put on ourselves originally.

You formed in 2024, and have already played shows across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Has the pace of things surprised you, or did you think it would go this way, this fast?

Yeah, absolutely, I was surprised; I didn't think it would happen so fast, but I always had the self-belief that we could do it. But yeah, to put it into perspective, we released “The Kiss” in September of 2024, and by January 2025, we were playing two shows in London, recording our first EP, and spent the rest of the year touring the UK and Europe. So it all happened a year after leaving school. It got pretty serious very fast. I thought that maybe the band would take off towards the end of college, but we didn't even get to go to college.

You have played in London quite a few times now, as you mentioned. How does playing to a UK crowd compare to playing at home in Ireland?

I think there’s a sense of a full-circle moment when we play at home in Dublin. There are a lot more familiar faces, so it's a bit less nerve-racking, I guess, but sometimes it's not. We ended our first tour in Dublin, and that was more nerve-racking because people can see you're playing abroad in London, Paris and the Netherlands, and it was our first time coming home, so it can be scary to come back and prove ourselves. But I think London crowds are harder to break than Irish crowds, and Irish crowds can be a bit more lively. UK crowds can be a bit, you know, dry at times, but once you play there for a while, you create a bit of a fan base and they get more into it.

There's a lot of exciting music coming out of Ireland at the moment. Do you feel like you're a part of a particular scene or do you feel like Croíthe is doing its own thing?

I feel like personally we are doing our own thing, but I don't mean that in a way to put anyone else down. I do feel very part of the scene, bands like Bleech 9:3 and Madra Salach, to name a couple, they’re phenomenal bands. We all started at similar times; we all got to know each other at similar times, and we've all played with each other and supported each other at some point. I think coming into the scene where we're younger than everyone, I’ve always had a bit of a chip on my shoulder to prove myself to people who have a bit more experience than me, and I think through that I've always felt that we were doing our own thing, whether it was as a writer or as a band; we felt a bit on our own, which I think is important too, because, you know, the competitive nature of it all can drive you to write and do the best you can.

Is there an Irish artist or band at the moment that you think more people should know about?

There is an electronic group called Mischa and the Bear, who I think are really cool. I think they're doing something very unique and they're a lot of fun. It's a breath of fresh air, honestly. There are a lot of guitar bands in Ireland, ourselves included, so I always respect someone who's breaking that and coming to the scene and doing something different. Cruel Sisters are really cool. D Abdu too; that album was phenomenal. County Rocket as well; I think he's a great songwriter. Grá too, there's a lot of folky bands around, which I really appreciate.

You’re recording your next EP at the moment. Who were your biggest influences on this project, and have they changed much from the artists who influenced your earlier music?

I think on the first EP, our influences were very much the standard guitar bands you grow up with: The Smiths, The Cure, Joy Division, so we took that form initially, but we’ve gotten much more comfortable in ourselves for this project. I think there were a lot of heavier influences for this record, especially me, vocally. The Cure was a big one for me. We're exploring darker themes lyrically and sonically. Bands like Title Fight, Sunny Day Real Estate and American Football from the hardcore emo scene in the late 90s were a big inspiration for us on this project. We even leaned into new metal a bit, bands like Korn and Slipknot. I wouldn't say they're a huge influence, but just in terms of how far you can push something and not ruin its original product. As a songwriter, I listen to a lot of Elliott Smith, and if you take away the electric guitars from his songs, they're just vulnerable, acoustic songs at their core.

How do you approach songwriting as a four-piece? Is it usually a collaborative process or does one person tend to bring the initial idea and then you work off that?

I'd be the sole songwriter in the band, honestly. Usually, it starts with me and my acoustic guitar in my bedroom. I’ll have lyrics and a structure that I bring to the band, and everyone adds their own thing to it. I have an idea in my head and they can kind of pick up on that, and that's what makes it what it is.

Which tends to come first, lyrics or instrumentals?

It really depends. For example, with “Wicked Boy”, one of the songs on the new EP, it was lyrics first, and then I developed a baseline. Then, for “Alibi”, it started with a riff I’ve had since I was 14. It was a little warm-up riff I was playing in drop D, and I just got this vocal melody one day, and then lyrics just came out of nowhere. So every song is kind of different.

Looking back at everything that Croíthe has achieved since 2024, what has been your biggest learning curve as a band?

On our first European tour, punctuality became a very important thing for us to learn. We missed a few trains and had to pay for that. It was a big learning curve for us. Touring can take a huge toll on your physical and mental health. When you're playing seven shows in a row, you’re away from home, and it's not a holiday; it is work, and people don't think it's work; they think it's all staying out late and drinking beers, but you can't do that every day. You have to protect your voice, and it’s important to keep yourself in check on the road, and also check in back at home. It's probably one that people don't realise. As a band, we’re pretty tame people! We do enjoy a few beers after a show, but you need to know when to stop.

You’re working on your second EP now. What can you tell us about what's coming next after the EP?

We will be releasing the EP early next year. We'll take that into a tour around Ireland, the UK and Europe. We’ll do a hometown show at the Button Factory. That will be our biggest headline show to date. And we'll spend the summer playing festivals. We'll see how this EP goes; hopefully it doesn't flop! It took me a while to write this one; I can be a perfectionist when it comes to this stuff. But I’m glad it’s done now, because now I can't change anything about it. It’s almost like it's not my music anymore, in a way. It's locked, you know, it's recorded. I can't change anything now.

https://croithe.bandcamp.com/music

Caodan Connolly (Croíthe)

Miriam Ingram