Tag Archives: ireland

Postcards from Ireland!

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Hi there! I’m in Ireland, where I’ve visited a potential location for the girls* rock! Ireland music project in Dublin, been chilling with my family in Waterford and been getting to know the newest member of the family in Cork. Not to mention the fact that John, Dave’s dad, was featured singer at the singers club in Cork on Sunday. I think you could call this a summer holiday as the weather has been fantastic – just wish I had gotten to see some grrrlfriends too. Here are a few snaps! Xo

P.S. back to Berlin tomorrow – and then we are getting ready to play Antifee in Göttingen on Saturday 8th June, on the same night as some bands like Respect My Fist (band crush alert), Jolly Goods and Crime! It’s gonna be the bomb!

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What is the point of St. Patrick’s Day?

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Quick question – what is the point of St. Patrick’s Day?

Is it to sell Irishness? To sell beer? Because I’m kinda sick of this appropriation of Irishness for reasons that seem entirely commercial/designed to attract tourists. It’s a lot of bullshit (and internalised post-colonialism) to wade through before you can even start thinking about Irish culture/cultures in/from Ireland and communicating with other Irish people/artists.

Not to mention the fact that St. Patrick’s Day Festival Berlin is sponsored by sweatshop-lovers Primark. Wat?

P.S. This is not a dig at artists / bands etc. that play around the world on St. Patrick’s Day. It’s hard enough to get gigs when you’re from a small island with less cultural infrastructure than other (European) countries.

If you are an Irish artist / artist based in Ireland who is participating or not participating, what are your thoughts? If you are an Irish person in Ireland or abroad, how will you spend the day, will you ignore it completely? If you are German / non-Irish, what does it mean to you, if anything at all?

P.S. If Karan Casey was playing in Berlin, I would be there like a shot! This is her singing the song “Ballad of Accounting” at the Festival interceltique de Lorient 1999. I’ve been a fan since I first saw her as a teenager in Waterford, playing with some great musicians.

Blog Post: International Women’s Day – Ireland under Abortion Prohibition

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Blog post to accompany the new single, Breeder.

I find it hard to articulate what it’s like to grow up as a woman in Ireland under abortion prohibition. A (post-colonial) country that is ready to export it’s women (the ones that can afford it / have the legal status that allows them to do so) to the UK to have abortions there. That likes to pretend Irish abortion doesn’t exist. I watch the news, read the newspaper since I was a child and it doesn’t make any sense – members of Catholic institutes posing as “teachers”. Wat?

I stopped reading the newspaper. You have to get on with life. The case of Savita Halappanavar, entirely outrageous on it’s own terms, opens up wounds of anger and rage. I can’t call them pro-life anymore, not after this.

And when I watch thousands of people marching for women’s human rights in Ireland – it takes my breath away. Setting our sights higher than just life and death situations but towards actual choice. Fighting for self-determination and to burn down the hell they have created. Yeah! We’re gonna take overrrrrrrr!

Women and trans*people are humans too. The Irish constitution (Article 40.3.3) denies that when it refers to pregnant women as “mothers”. Women are people, first and foremost! I’m a person, I’m not a breeder!!!

<3, Midi Grrrl Choice Ireland
Berlin Vigil and Protest Outside the Irish Embassy

You’re Only Massive at Transsmisja, Krakow, Poland, 2012.

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Transmissja, Krakow, Poland

David Murphy at Transsmisja, Krakow, Poland.

Joanna Gontkiewicz, Transmissja, Krakow, Poland, You're Only Massive, Polska,

You’re Only Massive

David Murphy, Joanna Gontkiewicz, You're Only Massive, Poland, Polska, Krakow, Translola, Transmissja

David Murphy singing “It Won’t Work” at Transmissja, Krakow, Poland.

The drummer from Translola supporting You're Only Massive with some extra drum power!

The drummer from Translola supporting You’re Only Massive with some extra drum power!

Joanna Gontkiewicz, Transmissja, Krakow, Poland, You're Only Massive, Polska,

Audience members during “Shake the Cool Away”.

Joanna Gontkiewicz, Transmissja, Krakow, Poland, You're Only Massive, Polska,

David Murphy.

All photo credit goes to: Joanna Gontkiewicz.

Midi Grrrl is Pro-Choice!

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The image below my contribution to a video being made to promote pro-choice visibility in Ireland and remove some of the stigma around the phrase.

Midi Grrrl Pro Choice Abortion Reproductive Rights Ireland

Midi Grrrl Is Pro-Choice. Photo by Shai Levy. All rights reserved.

Midi Grrrl Set by Shai Levy

It’s about time it is made clear that being pro-choice is not about being pro-abortion, but about enabling women* to make our own decisions about our own bodies and healthcare. It’s so sad that it took the tragic and completely preventable death of Savita Halappanavar to make this a widely talked about topic, but it’s also wonderful that so many people in Ireland are becoming more radical and taking steps to safeguard their health and the health of their sisters, daughters, wives, cousins and friends!

If you are interested in being in the video, mail them at [email protected] with an image of yourself and the words “I’m pro-choice” on the image. They can be photographs, drawings or mixture between both but should be of decent size so they can be added to the video, which is 16:9 and HD. The deadline is today! Do it, make your own image and raise pro-choice visibility in Ireland!