Dea Matrona (band)

Dea Matrona are an Irish rock band based in Belfast and led by Orláith Forsythe and Mollie McGinn.
Formally formed in 2018, the band have written and self-produced all of their catalogue to the present day. Both Orláith and Mollie sing and play multiple instruments, exchanging lead singing duties but also swapping their roles on bass and lead guitar.
The core band members Orláith Forsythe and Mollie McGinn first met in somewhat competitive circumstances, competing against each other in Scór na nÓg singing competitions. “We also went to the same school but didn’t really know each other. In fifth year there was a talent show at school and both of us wanted to enter it individually,” Forsythe recalls. “But there was only one more space, so the teacher was like, look, you'll do it together or you don't do it, so we very awkwardly did it together without really knowing each other.”
They performed The Chicks song Travelin’ Soldier and then sometime after they clicked with their shared passion for Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. The then-teenagers quickly moved on to busking. “We just went out and played our guitars all day,” says McGinn. “We would meet on a weekend, leave the house in the morning and just not come back all day. I think there was one summer, we just busked pretty much every day.”
In early 2017, still in their teenage years, Orláith & Mollie started playing gigs in smaller pubs, wedding and functions as a cover band. After finishing their studies at Assumption Grammar School, they decided to take a year out to pursue a full-time job making music In the summer of 2018, Mollie managed to draft her younger sister Mamie McGinn, 14 at the time, to play drums with the duo and they began performing regularly as a trio.
They decided to change their name to Dea Matrona [1], which translates to "divine mother goddess" in Celtic mythology and admitted that the reason they stuck with Dea Matrona is mostly to due its vibe. In 2019, Dea Matrona released a collection of four original songs with the Away from the Tide EP. They started producing their music themselves initially due to financial constraints, and they have continued to do so, embracing a DIY approach to their music. Aside from the EP release, the band kept up their cover band work and busking efforts.
In December 2020, a video of the band performing Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well” went viral online, gaining over 4 million views. This increase in online attention led to the band performing their single Make You My Star on The Late Late Show in March 2021, which subsequently reached Number 1 on both the UK and Ireland iTunes rock charts. Following this success, they performed at multiple festivals in 2021, including Reading & Leeds, and Belsonic.
In February 2022, Dea Matrona released a statement on their social media announcing the departure of Mamie McGinn from the band to "focus on college and pursue other interests". Orláith and Mollie continued on as a duo and kept performing live with added session musicians. Notable performances include SXSW, Eurosonic Noorderslag, Rock Werchter, Electric Picnic and supported KALEO as well as Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett on his tour. In 2023 Dea Matrona announced their first UK and Ireland headline tour.
The band chose to turn down a record deal for the release of their debut album For Your Sins, prioritising artistic control. The album explores themes of love, lust, and religion. Weeks before the album release, the band appeared in a cameo role in the final episode of Blue Lights series 2 The Loyaland can be seen playing in a bar during the last scene of the series covering Dolly Parton's Light of a Clear Blue Morning. The album was followed by a promotional tour and For Your Sins hit Number One on the UK Independent Album Breakers and reached the Top 20 in The Scottish Album Chart Chart. Following this Dea Matrona opened for Sheryl Crow in Halifax, England and supported Shania Twain at BST Hyde Park.