Tadgh O’Dwyer

Originally published: Town Tattler Vol 5 Issue 7

This month, we catch up with Tadgh O'Dwyer, former underage player with the club, who’s now making waves on the Irish music scene as frontman of local band BYRO (formerly known as Coolboy). From kicking ball in Rathleague to headlining gigs and appearing on RTÉ, Tadgh chats to us about his musical journey, the band’s rapid rise, and why he still holds a soft spot for the Town.

A bit about yourself.

My name is Tadgh and I’m 20 years old. I’m a musician and a proud member of Portlaoise GAA.

What are your earliest memories of being involved with the club?

I was sort of a late bloomer when it came to sports if I’m honest. I joined Portlaoise GAA when I was around 12 years old playing both hurling and football, having never played either before.

I suppose I joined because I had mates playing. Also my dad (Ed) has always been stonewall mad about GAA (particularly hurling) which definitely made me want to play it that bit more.

Do you remember your first time pulling on the club jersey?

I can’t say I remember exactly the first time but the earliest time that sticks out to me was in the U12 ‘B’ football final against Castletown. It was in the LOETB Centre of Excellence on the second pitch.

I remember how much bigger and stronger they were compared to us and how terrified I was of them at the time. We did end up winning the game and had a feast in Supermacs afterwards.

Who or what has the biggest influence on your music?

In general I take inspiration from so many different people, places and things. I think when writing the most important thing is to be observant in your daily life.

When you’re taking in what’s going on around you there’s never a scarcity of things to write about. When it comes to the music side of things it’s genuinely just years of practice and listening to great music growing up (thanks to dad for that).

Your band recently featured on the RTÉ Irish language programme An Ghig Mhór, how did that opportunity come about?

That opportunity was presented to us by the wonderful people at Music Generation Laois. I was a student there for years and I owe them everything really. If I hadn’t joined them chances are I wouldn’t be in the band today.

We had a few meetings with the team at RTÉ and they came down to see us practising etc. Within a month of our first time meeting we were already filming and planning our hometown headline show.

The show had a strong focus on Gaeilge. What’s your own relationship with the Irish language?

The Irish language is something I always have been and always will be extremely proud of. I did all 15 years of schooling from pre-school to leaving cert through Irish and still to this day speak it regularly.

It’s a skill that’s gotten me so many opportunities and opened so many doors for me. I really do think it’s a special thing to be able to converse with other people in your mother tongue and it’s something that’s thankfully being done more and more nowadays.

For those who haven’t heard you yet, how would you describe BYRO’s sound?

Our sound is a concoction of all of our favourite artists. Imagine throwing artists like The Strokes, Radiohead, Fleetwood Mac and Nirvana into a big witches cauldron.

That’s pretty much what you’re getting with us, a genuine mixture of all of our favourite things about music. I think the most important thing for us is that we have a sound that’s recognisable. It’s something we’ve been working on tirelessly for the last 18 months and are now really confident in.

Who are the other members of the band and how did you all come together?

I’ve been friends with Fionn (lead guitar) for years. We bonded over guitar and started playing together in our bedrooms one summer.

From there we reached out to two great Mountrath men who I knew were music mad and the rest is history really. It just worked from the start.

What’s been the highlight for you as a band so far?

We’re extremely lucky to have had so many cool things happen in such a short period of time. If I had to choose one thing I reckon it would be the show we put on in Kavanagh’s, Portlaoise last August.

I don’t think there’s a word to accurately depict how that night felt. It was right off the back of our first single release and the whole room screamed every single word back to us.

Dancing, mosh pits, crowd surfing and all sorts. A really special moment for us all.

Is there a dream venue or festival you’d love to play?

As a man from Laois, headlining Electric Picnic is something that I’ve wanted to do since the first time I attended the festival.

I was lucky enough to play at it in 2019 when I was 14 on a smaller stage, however I still have hope that the main stage slot is going to happen.

Another dream of mine is to play in O’Moore Park. I’m not sure if that’s even something that can be done but it’s something I want and I don’t plan to stop until it happens.

Anything outside of those two is a bonus really.

Do you see yourself writing or performing anything as Gaeilge?

I have written as Gaeilge before and it’s definitely something I plan to do for future projects.

At the moment we’re doing the bulk of our writing through English but that’s not to say we won’t dabble in some Gaeilge in the future.

For any Electric Picnic goers keep an eye out on our socials (@byro.band), we might just make an appearance at this years festival.

What’s next for BYRO, any gigs, new music, or big plans we should keep an eye out for?

We’ve been really busy the last few months working on new music and we hope to have something out for everyone to sink their teeth into soon.

We’re playing a lot of shows next month so keep your eyes peeled for show announcements and definitely come and see one if you can.

Every single bit of support helps us four eejits so much.

Last but not least, where do you see the future of Portlaoise GAA Club heading?

Honestly I think the future of the club has never looked brighter. I’ve seen so many plans that are undoubtedly going to send the club in a positive direction and I’m seriously excited about what the future holds.

Regardless of anything else I always have been and always will be a proud Portlaoise man.