When Mandy Nolan and Áine Tyrrell (co-founding witches of the Country Witches Association) are called, they rise – honouring Sinéad O’Connor’s passing and legacy is something they feel passionate about.
It has been a particularly heavy week for Irish co-founding witch Áine Tyrrell; for Irish women, for any woman who has ever stood up for something, for rebellious women, for troublemakers, for witches, for women who have been labeled crazy, for women who have not followed the rules, for women who have been truth-tellers, leaders, mothers, activists, and musicians who have dreamt of more and better. Basically, any woman-ing work this week has felt heavier with the loss of a true queen, a Banríon, a trailblazer in every essence of that word.
Áine has been getting requests from the media to speak about her hero Sinéad’s impact on Irish women, Irish society, Irish female musicians and to speak about the impact of this loss. It was her co-founding witch Mandy Nolan that she called to talk through the complexities of it all and deep dive. These conversations were powerful and it coincided with requests to put something on locally and to roar these songs out collectively. Both Mandy and Áine agreed that the Country Witches Association cauldron was the place to hold the songs and to hold important conversations to honour Sinéad’s legacy.
This will be more than just a tribute to Sinéad’s work; it will make visible the heavy lifting she did for many; and show how we can carry that legacy on, to continue to be a force of change. For that reason they couldn’t think of a better cause to send the event profits to than the Grace Tame Foundation.
Join the witches on Sunday, 20 August at the Mullum Ex-Services Club. Tickets are $25 and available at ainetyrrell.com/tour.
If Mandy is associated with anything involving witches to me that seems totally appropriate.