Energised Polly set for West Cork gig

A WEST Cork musician is showcasing her talents at Ireland’s first folk conference taking place this week. 

Polly Barrett was invited to do a showcase at the ‘Your Roots Are Showing’ conference in Monaghan.

‘It’s a great opportunity to be seen by music industry delegates but also there will be workshops and seminars on building careers, touring, royalties. All useful and interesting stuff,’ said Polly. 

Originally from Kinsale, it wasn’t until she moved to the Mizen in 2014 that she felt settled and at home, and she now lives in Schull. 

Even though she started writing songs in her teens she didn’t consider it as a career until after college. 

‘I trained to be an actor in London and when I started working, I would busk in between jobs to pay the rent. But I enjoyed it so much. Being able to choose what I sang and just be myself, my own boss, I really like that. So I did the open mic scene in Cork city and a bit in Dublin and then eventually started recording and releasing music. Then after I had my son Arthur, my head was in a completely different space and I couldn’t write at all. I was very anxious, he never slept well and I was always so exhausted! But he’s almost seven now, and in 2021 my inner writer woke up and I’ve been writing and recording again since then. Better than ever now with the experience of motherhood in my arsenal. My partner Frank and I have been arranging, recording and performing my songs together and that’s really helped my music to evolve too I think,’ said Polly who released an EP called ‘Dark Garden’ last Summer. 

After the folk festival Polly will head to TradFest in Dublin’s Templebar.  

‘I’ve played at it a number of times now and the atmosphere is always fabulous. And around every corner is some trad legend just hanging out. It’s a really lovely thing to be a part of and I’m very grateful,’ she said. 

And on February 10th, she’ll play a headline show in Levis’, Ballydehob with Frank Wieler and Lea Miklody. ‘It’s been years since I’ve played a full show in West Cork and I’ve got so much new material to share, along with the new sound of this trio so I’m really excited,’ she said. 

• Tickets are €20 and are available on www.leviscornerhouse.com