Dea Matrona (band)

Dea Matrona is an Irish rock band currently based in Belfast and led by Orláith Forsythe and Mollie McGinn.

Formally formed in 2018, the band have written and produced all of their catalogue to the present day, as well as covering many of their favourite songs. Dea Matrona's main influences are Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. Both Orláith and Mollie sing and play multiple instruments, exchanging singing duties but also swapping their roles on bass and lead guitar.

History
The band's history began when then secondary school friends Orláith and Mollie found out that they shared most of their musical interests. Orláith and Mollie would show each other the bands they were listening to, allowing them to expand their influences while bonding over the music.

Orlaith & Mollie
In early 2017, still in their teenage years, the duo decided to give busking a try, simply going by the name of Orlaith & Mollie. These early performances quickly started gaining the pair some attention and Orlaith & Mollie started playing gigs in smaller pubs. The duo then started playing dedicated venues, such as The Waterfront Hall (supporting Flash Harry) at the end of 2017.

After finishing their musical studies at Assumption Grammar School, the now A-level musicians decided to take a year out to pursue a full-time job making music. In the summer of 2018, Mollie managed to draft her younger sister Mamie McGinn, 14 at the time, to play drums with the duo.

The band's popularity kept rising mainly carried by the busking performances that the band would upload to their official Youtube and Facebook pages.

Dea Matrona
In the meantime, Orlaith & Mollie decided to change their name to Dea Matrona, which translates to "divine mother goddess" in Celtic mythology. Orláith and Mollie admitted that the reason they stuck with Dea Matrona is mostly to due its vibe and the feelings the name invokes. In 2019, Dea Matrona released a collection of four original songs with the Away from the Tide EP. Aside from the EP release, the band also kept up their gigging and busking efforts.

In December 2020, a video of the band performing Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well” went viral online, gaining over 4 million views. This increase in online attention led to the band performing their single Make you my star on The Late Late Show in March 2021, which subsequently reached Number 1 on both the UK and Ireland iTunes rock charts. Following this success, they performed at multiple festivals in 2021, including Reading & Leeds, Beautiful days, Live at Leeds, Stendhal Festival and performed two nights at Belsonic, Belfast. A cover of Them’s “Gloria” for Hot Press magazine’s celebration of Van Morrison's 75th birthday saw the band open for Van Morrison for two nights in the Millennium Forum, Derry. In November 2021 the band won two awards at the Northern Ireland Music Prize winning “Best single” and “ATL Contender”.

Line-up change
In February 2022, Dea Matrona released a statement on their social media announcing the departure of Mamie McGinn from the band to "focus on college and pursue other interests". They have continued to perform as a trio using several session drummers.

2022–2023
In May 2022 the band embarked on their first European tour supporting Eagles of Death Metal as well as performing at festivals such as Rock Werchter, Trans Musicales and The Great Escape Festival. That same year, the Dea Matrona released the singles So Damn Dangerous and Red Button, the latter appearing in the Belfast based Sky Atlantic TV series “The Lovers”. The group began 2023 by embarking on a 5 week tour across the UK supporting Kris Barras, followed by another UK and Ireland tour in March 2023 supporting Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett. In February 2023 Dea Matrona announced their first UK and Ireland headline tour, with three dates in Bristol, Glasgow and London selling out. They performed in the US for the first time at SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas as well as releasing the single Get My Mind Off and playing at festivals such as Bearded Theory, Flackstock and The Iveagh Gardens supporting KALEO. The band also played at Wembley arena as part of the Jags Country concert for the NFL Jaguars UK team.

2024
In February 2024 the band released a new single Stuck On You along with details about their upcoming album For Your Sins and a promotional tour. In March, Dea Matrona made an appearance at The Limelight 2, supporting Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett. The same month, Black Rain, the second single from the album was released, followed by the third single Every Night I Want You in April. Weeks before the album release, the band appeared in a cameo role in the final episode of Blue Lights series 2 The Loyal. They can be seen playing in a bar at the last scene of the episode covering Dolly Parton's Light of a Clear Blue Morning.

May 3rd marked the release of Dea Matrona's debut album For Your Sins, alongside a headline tour of UK and Ireland. Tour spanned 20 days until the 22nd of May, counting with 11 UK shows and 4 across Ireland. While touring, the band also played acoustic shows in several record stores.

Summer gigs began shortly after the headline tour, with Dea Matrona making an appearance at Sound Of The Shore Music Festival on the 1st of June. On the 13th of June, Dea Matrona opened for Sheryl Crow at the Piece Hall.

Band members

 * Orláith Forsythe - Vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, mandolin (2017–present)
 * Mollie McGinn - Vocals, lead guitar, bass guitar, keys, drums (2017–present)
 * Mamie McGinn - Drums (2018 - 2022)

Album

 * For Your Sins (self-released, 3rd May 2024)

EPs

 * Away from the Tide (self-released, 2019)
 * Dea Matrona EP (self-released, 2022)

Singles

 * "Hard On Yourself" (2019)
 * "Make You My Star" (2020)
 * "Stamp On It" (2021)
 * "Glory Glory (I Am Free)" (2022)
 * "So Damn Dangerous" (2022)
 * "Red Button" (2022)
 * "Get My Mind Off" (2023)
 * "Stuck On You" (2024)
 * "Black Rain" (2024)
 * "Every Night I Want You" (2024)

Appearances and features

 * UTV Life, UTV (24 May 2019)
 * Stephen Nolan Show, BBC One (5 February 2020)
 * Hot Press, #MorningGlory25 (3 October 2020)''
 * The Late Late Show, RTÉ One (12 March 2021)
 * Blue Lights series 2, Episode 6: The Loyal (22 March 2024)

Trivia

 * Jim Fitzpatrick, the Irish artist who did most of the artwork for Thin Lizzy, has also designed one of Dea Matrona's logos.
 * The instrument swapping between Orláith and Mollie started in the early busking days due to the heaviness of the bass guitar. The instrument swaps have been remarked by several other musicians, including Sheryl Crow.