Madra Salach
Irish neo-traditional folk band
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Madra Salach [ˈmˠad̪ˠɾˠa ˈsˠal̪ˠʊx] (English: Dirty Dog) is an Irish contemporary-folk band based in Dublin founded in 2023.[1] Formed by founding members Paul Banks, Adam Cullen and Dara Duffy as they played gigs across various venues in the Northside of Dublin.[2] Three additional members joined to complete the group, with Maxime Arnold, Jack Lawlor and Jack Martin rounding off the six-piece group.[3] Madra Salach have played multiple festivals such as All Together Now and Electric Picnic, shows, and released their debut EP, It's a Hell of an Age in January 2026.[4][5]
Career
Madra Salach started with its three founding members — Paul Banks, Adam Cullen, and Dara Duffy — forming a trad band and playing in pubs and small venues across the Northside of Dublin. Banks began talking separately with a future band-member Jack Martin about contemporary Irish bands and fusing contemporary sound into their music, the two projects combined and make up the group's distinct contemporary folk blend.[1] Following a spate of pub and small venue gigs, alongside a successful festival season in 2025, the group got together to record their debut EP.
Madra Salach's debut-single, "Blue & Gold" was released on September 18, 2025.[6] This would be the first of two singles to be released as a preview to their debut-EP. Their second single, "I Was Just A Boy" debuted on October 30, 2025.[7]
They released their debut-EP "It's a Hell of an Age" on January 23, 2026, which topped the Irish Independent Albums Chart and was number 3 on the overall Irish Albums Charts.[8] The record's name is taken from the opening line of the final track, "Murphy Can Never Go Home" a traditional ballad detailing the Irish migrant experience abroad written by Mick Curry, an Irish labourer working in Birmingham.[9]
Personnel
Discography
EPs
- It's a Hell of an Age (23 January 2026)[8]