‘We do get on so well and we wouldn't be here 20 years later if we didn’t’

“I don't know other bands who would be in that position where they are asked to play at weddings and funerals as often as we are.”
Lorna McLaughlin, one of The Henry Girls, the group she formed with her sisters Karen and Joleen 20 years ago, points out the group has played at three funerals in recent weeks, including that of respected journalist Brian Hutton in Derry.
Playing at the weddings and funerals of family, friends and neighbours, illustrates how embedded in their community the group is still, 20 years after launching a career that has seen them tour extensively and become a regular sound on Irish national radio.
This month sees the 20th anniversary of the release of the band's first album, Between Us, and the sisters from Malin will mark the occasion with a special concert in Carndonagh's Colgan Hall on January 24.
The concert will be a celebration of their two decades as a band that is in the final stages of work on an eighth album.
The years in between have seen them play throughout Ireland and in Europe. Musically they have also developed. The new album will be their first that will comprise entirely of original material and will have a sound that they are happy they can call their own.

First step

That was not always the case. Lorna looks back on Between Us as a significant first step for the three sisters from Drumaville, but also a record which they have moved on from and developed from significantly.
“It is not the best album we made - it’s a bit too eclectic, but it was a good launch into the career we wanted,” she says.
“'Between Us only had two original songs and the rest were co-writes and covers of traditional songs. The new album will be all original music and we are really pleased to be able to write an original music album because we didn’t have the confidence 20 years ago.”
Three of six sisters, they grew up in a musical household where singing and playing music was encouraged by their parents, Joe and Kathleen.
The talents of the six sisters were spotted by members of a carnival group from London that was performing with the Inishowen Carnival Group in Carndonagh in 1999. Lorna, Joleen and Karen were invited to perform at a festival in Italy along with their sisters Maureen, Anita and Clare.
“It was a really nice experience playing live together and it went down really well. That's when the seed was planted that we could do something.”
Lorna and Karen then spent time in Australia where they played in bands. On their return, they enlisted Joleen, the youngest of the six sisters - “who was really into music” -in forming a group. The name, The Henry Girls, came from how their family was referred to locally - Henry was their grandfather's first name - to distinguish them from the countless other McLaughlin families in the area.
The decision to record an album came from the belief that it would help launch a career and also help them focus on producing a repertoire.

Help

Making it required a lot of help. That was at hand in the form of a grant from Inishowen Rural Development Limited now Inishowen Development Partnership) and Donegal County Council and sponsorship from local businesses Neil J Doherty auctioneers in Carndonagh and Byrne Sea Food in Malin.
“We were lucky as we would not have had any money ourselves so we were lucky to have the sponsorship and the grant.”

Musically there was great encouragement and help from drummer and singer Lawrence Doherty from Buncrana and Burt natives Billy and Percy Robson. The album was produced by Máire Breatnach - the fiddler whose credits include work with Sharon Shannon, Moya Brennan, and The Chieftains - and recorded at Percy Robinson’s studio in Ramelton. Glenties fiddler Denise Boyle, who has collaborated with them since, also appeared on the album.
Pre-recording rehearsals took place in Malin National School, where all three had been pupils, thanks to the help of Maura Monagle from the teaching staff.
“We were rookies. When we started we hadn't done much at all, just a few things, so the album was the first thing we really did.”
The launch of the album in McGrory’s in Culdaff on January 24, 2003, was effectively the launch of the band.
“We knew we needed to have a recording. We had experience, but we didn’t have a repertoire so we knew this was going to make us get a repertoire together. And if we made a recording it meant we would be able to get played on the radio and be able to get festivals when people knew what we sounded like.”
They released another two albums over the following years and would go on to make three albums with Scottish producer Calum Malcolm, who has worked with acts including The Blue Nile, Clannad, and Simple Minds.
It was only then, Lorna says, that they began to develop their own sound.
“The first three albums were really important just to show us what working in a studio was really like. They would not have been in any way a success for us. They just kept us going really.”
She finds it hard to put their music into a genre. “Somebody has described it as folk-pop or pop-folk, but I’m not sure if that is a good description. It’s rootsy, folksy music.”

Touring

Touring has also become a big part of the band’s career. They did not play much outside Ireland, or indeed Donegal, during the early years. In 2012 they went to Germany for the first time.
“That’s when things really took off for us and we became that kind of a band and we’ve been so lucky - we’ve been back to Germany every year since and sometimes twice a year, to do quite lengthy tours. It’s just brilliant, and it gives us such recognition.”
The touring also gives the band to freedom to do other things. All three teach music and are involved in community music projects, such as the Inishowen Gospel choir, which Lorna helped to found. They are also involved in the Inishowen Trad Orchestra and Choir which will be performing in the National Concert Hall on January 22.

Longevity

The relationship between the three sisters is a large part of their longevity.
“We do get on so well and we wouldn't be here 20 years later if we didn’t. We have a really fast way of working because we are able to get through things very quickly.
“We are part of each other’s daily lives. It is very much about intermingling with our own personal lives and it just feels very, very normal now.”