Based between Berlin and Laois, a traditional Irish and contemporary singer and film producer, will release an EP later this year.
Molly Donnery hails from Camross and is known for her vocals with the band, The Haar.
She moved to Coolrain when she was four years of age with her parents and her two sisters, quickly joined by her three younger siblings, triplets.
Molly has been travelling a lot recently between Ireland, Berlin and the UK which, she says, speaking to LaoisToday, ‘has been very chaotic but I honestly feel so lucky that it’s all for music’.
Creativity was fostered in this busy household. “We all grew up playing music and sports as well as doing any theatre classes or dance workshops to be found.
“My parents are and always have been so good at encouraging us to get involved in loads of different things to discover what we enjoy,” she said.
“My mam, Jen, is an artist herself and my dad, Colin, is a huge appreciator of the arts so I feel very lucky to have grown up surrounded by a love for the arts, and having all my siblings there to get involved in things together is something I look back on very fondly,” Molly said.
“My older sister Grace is now a stage manager and studied at the Lir Academy, and Izzy who is just below me in age is in her final year of an English literature degree.
“As well as this my three youngest siblings – Lucy, George and Charlie – are currently doing their Leaving Cert, and I have no doubt they’ll end up pursuing some cool and creative things in the future.”
Molly went to primary school in Camross NS and secondary at Mountrath Community School – two places she credits for fostering her love of arts.
“My primary school was honestly great for performance work especially with the Christmas plays and occasional music classes, I think that was how I first realised I wanted to be a performer,” she said.
“In secondary school I met a lot of friends through music classes and our teacher Aidan Feeley was brilliant at encouraging us to sing and play whether it be in or outside of class.
“As well as this we had some wonderful caretakers in the school that were into Irish music, Martin who was also my camogie trainer growing up, and Seamus.
“It was really enjoyable just to experience the love for music outside of music classes in school.”
Molly was part of the renowned Camross Comhaltas from a young age.
She said: “I started out on the tin whistle and then played the concertina for a while before being lucky enough to get a harp through my branch for a year.
“Harp playing and singing very quickly became my main musical interests from that point. I took part in lots of group performances as well as some solo competitions as part of the branch.
“It was a really enjoyable experience and I owe a lot to the people who ran it as well as the friends I made from it.”
Molly also joined Music Generation Laois when it started its trad orchestra.
She said: “This was a real game changer for me as I got to meet musicians from all over the county and country and work with so many cool and talented people.
“They provided us with some amazing opportunities and I also started harp lessons with Siobhán Buckley around that time and became a much more confident player thanks to her.
“Rosa Flannery and all the team at Music Generation work really hard to create a fun environment for their students as well as providing loads of opportunities that really encourage people to want to pursue music professionally.
“They definitely played a huge part in me wanting to become a musician.”
A real high point was winning the All-Ireland gold medal at the Scór competition in Mayo in 2014.
Molly said: “Winning the Scór was honestly insane. It’s something I can’t really believe happened still to this day.
“Unlike the Fleadh, there tends to be a lot more versatility in style from what I can remember as you don’t have to sing unaccompanied.
“Winning the Scór was the first time I majorly realised that pursuing music professionally could be a possibility, and also made me believe in myself more.”
After the Leaving Cert she went to Trinity College Dublin to do a degree in film and theatre studies.
She said: “During this time I still tried to maintain a bit of music work on the side and actually met The Haar the summer after my first year in college.
“We met on Inis Oirr for the first time and since then have recorded two albums and have started touring since Covid ended.
“We record in a semi-improvised style and try to do the same to an extent for our live performances, allowing space for variation in every song.
“Working with The Haar has been an extremely rewarding process for me. Adam, Murray and Cormac are all amazing musicians and working with them has improved my skills immensely as well as allowing me to experiment more vocally.
“Because of Covid we actually ended up recording the start of our second album before ever performing live together.
“One of my favourite memories is definitely our first gig at Beardy Folk Festival, a midsummer music festival in England. We have come so far since then but I have really fond memories of Beardy.
“It was our first time to perform as a band live for an audience, and realising that dynamic worked as wonderfully live as it did in the studio.
“We went on our first tour in February and got to meet so many people who love the music we make. Having that audience turnout was really special especially since Covid slowed our start down a bit.”
Working with The Haar, Molly said, has helped her in becoming more confident as a singer which has in turn brought her to beginning to work on solo projects such as the EP she is releasing later this year.
“My solo work is more contemporary, but still largely inspired by my roots in trad music and storytelling. I’m hoping to focus on developing that sound over the next year and am excited to see where it takes me.”
Molly has worked as a freelance film producer since college, and it is something she really enjoys.
“I was very lucky to work as a producer on an independent feature at the start of the year, directed by Donncha Gilmore and produced by Gander Productions titled Girls and Boys.
“It was my first feature to be part of and was such an enjoyable experience with an amazing crew and cast.
“One of my favourite parts of working as a producer is having a hand in bringing people’s ideas to life.
“I’ve mainly worked on projects produced by members of the LGBTQ community in Ireland in the past few years, as I am passionate about the importance of their stories being told and their voices being platformed,” she said.
“I am in pre-production for music videos that will accompany my own work.
“I’m excited to be able to meld my love for film-making with my music career, and hopefully will be able to continue doing this in the future,” said Molly who gets home quite often for gigs and to see her family.
“At the moment I’m working hard on trying to create a viable career for myself as a freelancer, which I’m sure a lot of people will understand is annoyingly difficult.
“It’s part of the reason I moved to Berlin. From there I have been able to focus more on music since the cost of living is lower, and have also met a lot of amazing artists that have opened up a whole new world of inspiration and opportunities.
“Being any kind of full-time artist in today’s world can often seem unachievable, and there are plenty of days where I believe that to be the case.
“Despite this I have been extremely lucky to constantly be surrounded by people who believe in me and inspire me to want to pursue this.
“I have a funny feeling it’s not going to be the easiest of times but I am very excited for what the future holds for me as a musician and film-maker.
“Eventually I would really love to produce my own films that have a grounding in music, but that is a very longterm goal.
“For now I am very happy to take things day-by-day and focus on developing my craft as best I can.”
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