a bit about
the lads

During a trip to Slovakia in 2017, Dublin born musicians banjo player Adam J. Holohan and guitar player Tomás Mulligan discovered how much they enjoyed playing music together and decided to start a band. Not long after, while sitting at the bar of the famous Cobblestone Pub in Dublin's Smithfield Square, and drinking the strongest ale the Four Provinces Brewery had to offer, inspiration struck and they decided upon a name; Ispíní na hÉireann, and thus the Sausages of Ireland was born.

As years went on the band grew to include cellist Aongus MacAmhlaigh and a saxophone and Uilleann Pipes player Pádraig Óg Mac Aodhagáin to round out the greasy ranks, as well as guest players from all over the island.

Ispíní na hÉiereann’s music is a combination of original songs as well as reimagined covers and tunes, all influenced by the Irish musical tradition. There are layers of subtext and commentary, and a genuine method to all the madness. And as with any great art it is left open to the interpretation of the listener. It is up to the audience to decide whether or not this is all waffle, or if deeper meaning can be found amidst the chaotic noise.

On October 28, 2022 Ispíní na hÉiereann proudly debuted their album, The Hard Working Men. It is the result of years of effort, frustration, and spontaneous brainfarts, and they hope that somewhere along the way it can make you crack a smile.

Meet the Sausages

Some questions with the lads

Tomás:
Rum Sodomy, and The Lash. The Pogues got me back into Irish music when I was rebelling against it.
O’ Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack. It was the only CD in my parents car when we were younger that wasn't Irish music, and this was before the M1 Motorway, so every trip to my granda's in Armagh was over 2 hours. A lot of listening to that really sparked an interest in Americana for me.
Look Over The Wall See The Sky - John Francis Flynn. I like this because he is my friend and it’s an exceptional album
Aongus:
Our Love - Caribou
Fibs - Anna Meredith
Comb Your Hair and Cut It - Catherine McEvoy, Micheal O’Raghaillagh, Caoimhin O’Raghallaigh
Pádraig Óg:
Seize the Day - Damien Dempsey
Gusty’s Frolics - Seán Keane
Skinty Fia go Deo - Fontaine’s D.C.
Adam:
Live at the Gaiety - The Dubliners. Genuinely my favourite album of all time. My mother was given the DVD of the concert for Christmas and I must have sat in front of it 100 times and watched every song, when I started playing I used to try and play along with them and pretend I was Barney McKenna - I was not, I was terrible.
Astral Weeks - Van Morrison. So much going on in the arrangements of the songs, genius craftsmanship really. Each song has a different colour, and depicts a different room. The lore of the album is also fascinating enough on its own.
My and My Guitar - Tony Rice. I only started listening to Tony Rice recently enough, John Flynn put me onto him. The coolest musician I've ever come across, the best guitar player of all time in my opinion and this album is just one of many I could pick. There's not a note on it that wasn't meant to be there yet maintains a beautiful live feel.
Tomás:
Spancil Hill. It was the first time we reimagined a song and it worked out. We had tried it with other songs and they sounded OK, or now with the gift of hindsight, quite awful. But this one worked and gained traction and I'm proud of what we did with it.
Aongus:
Talk to Joe. The lyrics are hilarious. They really capture the laziness of the show’s creators - the caller’s impassioned gripes used as material to make money for them and RTE.
Pádraig Óg:
A Health to the Company. In comparison to the rest of the tracks on this album, this song completely alters the mood. After the madness and lunacy of the first 6 tracks, the listener is brought back to reality with this lovely duet between Tomás and special guest Méabh Mulligan.
Adam:
The hard Working Men. This song came about as a complete joke, it was the first song we ever wrote. We were only joking when we said that we were the hardest working band in the world, how that's come back to haunt me! the song fills me with pride when I think of how much hard work we've put into this band.
Tomás: The Scratch calling me up on stage at the Point was an absolute trip
Aongus: Playing the 3 stage at Electric Picnic. Place was going mad - it was a bit surreal.
Pádraig Óg: The whole band performing as special guests for The Scratch’s encore set at their two sold out gigs in Vicar Street. The atmosphere in the room was off the charts.
Adam: Selling out the cobblestone back bar. We've definitely played bigger stages to larger audiences but I've seen the absolute pinnacle of Irish traditional music on that stage, I played my first ever gig there with the BCFE Trad course, so to sell that out with this band that me and my friends started for the craic was very satisfying.
Tomás: Sneaking into the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in the Phoenix Park when I was 14 is a stand-out anti-establishment moment for young me.
Aongus: Telling my Dad I thought I had heard every piece of music when I was 3. He didn’t even look up from the paper.
Adam: The first time I can remember hearing Irish music was in a beer garden in Kilmuckridge County Wexford, on our yearly caravan excursion. I probably wasn't even 10. It was some oulfella belting out Ballads, ‘Dirty Old Town’ in particular sticks out in my mind. I can't remember what he sounded like nor what he looked like but I remember the feeling, it just hit me in the heart. I kind of forgot about it then till I was a teenager and have been mad for that music ever since.
Pádraig Óg: My earliest musical memory is being dragged to my older brother’s tin whistle class as a toddler being made to sit in the room for the duration of the class. In hindsight, this tin whistle class definitely doubled as a baby sitting service for me. I have vague memories of tunes being played over and over while I sat in the corner playing with toys.