Junior Brother’s songs veer between the intensely personal and the hotly political, and his third album, The End, sees the Dublin-based songwriter’s ragged and uncompromising delivery reach new heights of unexpected beauty, strangeness and relevance. Never one to shy away from difficult subjects, Junior Brother – the stage name of Ronan Kealy – seems to be reaching further and further into himself to confront awkward themes like the rise of the far right and imperfections of the human body, so when KLOF had the chance to speak to him, the first thing we wanted to know was how Kealy views the progression of his work, and in what ways does The End differ from his previous albums. His reply – to this question and all the subsequent ones we put to him, is considered and wide-ranging.
‘With this new record, I feel like the sound and style I have developed since my first EP has been stretched and pushed to a point where it almost feels like reaching the final level of a video game, or achieving a sense of wild grace with my art. I really tried to see how far I could push things outside the box, while still remaining true to ideals I hold regarding instrumentation and striking emotional resonance.
‘One of the reasons the record is called ‘The End’ is because I really felt I had brought every aspect of my sound to a sort of limit point – however, though The End can mean the absolute limit of something, it can also signify a new beginning, after a period of darkness, confusion or pain.’
Kealy’s songs are often described as ‘experimental folk’, but it sometimes seems that that’s a phrase used by music journalists (this one included!) to talk about artists who don’t really sound like anyone else. Would he call himself an experimental folk musician, and if not, how would he describe what he is doing?
‘I’m really terrible at labelling or describing my music, categorising what kind of music it is, or knowing where I fit in with anything. I just see myself as a singer trying to express an energy that hopefully comes from a pure place. I am also forever trying to get shades or atmospheres that can’t be easily described in words through the music. I then feel I can inhabit this world of mine, which hopefully feels like a bit of a timeless place.’
The End certainly expresses an energy, and its rawness implies that it comes from the heart. But playing music authentically is one thing; capturing that authenticity in the studio is quite another. Enter John ‘Spud’ Murphy, the go-to guy for a whole generation of Irish musicians. What is it that makes ‘Spud’ such an effective producer, and what is he like to work with?
‘He has a very true and righteous passion for good and honest music, first of all. This integrity bleeds into every note of music he involves himself with, and in every choice he makes.
‘He’s an amazingly creative musician in his own right, which I always seek in collaborators. But lastly, he is simply a great buzz to be around, and is truly a man about whom no bad word could be uttered. I’m looking forward to working with him again soon on my next project, which I feel is going to be the best thing I’ve ever done.’ More news on that new project later.
Along with many of John ‘Spud’ Murphy’s collaborators, Kealy is based in Dublin these days. But he has his roots in County Kerry. We’re interested to know whether he still spends any time down in his home county, and whether his influences come more from there or from Dublin.
‘The place where I grew up in Kerry remains probably the biggest influence on my style of music, in almost every way. I fell in love with my parish of Kilcummin only after I returned from being away, at age 18. From that point on, I felt a huge urge to communicate in some way the weird, deeply-seated emotions the landscape from home would give me. When I discovered artists whose music I felt tapped into the same things (David Munrow, Kate Bush, John Martyn, Alan Stivell, Nick Drake to name a few), I set about trying to do the same with my own music.
‘Musically, I sadly couldn’t find what I was looking for at home, so I moved again, to Dublin and to a relentless schedule of Open Mics and Any-Gig-At-All. But in Dublin, I also began going to traditional Irish music sessions, and through that, I found a community which was spilling over with music and people that ticked all of my boxes. There are all sorts of music scenes in Dublin even now, as I speak, that are growing and striding forwards unapologetically with great fervour, vibrancy and integrity. To this I say, fair play to all, and to all, a wink and a nod.’
Back in those Kerry days, Kealy made what he previously described as some ‘mad, experimental, lo-fi, humorous’ CDs. His current sound, he suspects, is a combination of that early pranksterish energy and something more honed and crafted.
‘I feel like maybe I took that early energy and sense of divilment right into my acoustic guitar songwriting, but I also threw in lots of other elements too, to try to create a more streamlined style or voice that I felt truly came from me and reflected a rural uncanny sort of thing.
‘I haven’t listened to those early CD’s for many years, as many were lost in a gift-giving ceremony, but if anyone reading this happens to have any copies, please send them my way and I will begin the Deluxe Re-Issue Box Sets.’
His songs have certainly become more sophisticated over the years, at least lyrically. He often engages in social commentary. But does he feel any sense of duty to write politically conscious songs, and does he feel that music can effect positive change?
‘I just feel a natural desire to reflect my surroundings in my music. When I first moved to Dublin, these surroundings were imagined: romanticised vistas plumbed from homesick memories of the place where I came from. But living in Ireland’s capital, particularly as the environment around me began getting more tumultuous, more contemporary themes subconsciously began to emerge in my lyrics.
‘I think as a songwriter with an audience, I have to really respect that audience by being true to myself, especially if I touch on current, contentious subjects. It is my job to remain at all times acutely sensitive to life’s erratic pulses – if something in the modern experience seems wrong, then, it’s my job to sensitively suggest why.’
As well as the political elements of his songwriting, there is a parallel thread of folklore and folk horror on the new record. We seem to have been in the midst of a folk horror boom for quite a while now. For Kealy, the folklore is linked to current societal issues.
‘It all probably goes back to the reason more authentic music is gaining more traction these days – the distance phones and technology have created between people and what is meant to actually make people happy. There is much, much more contentment waiting behind the Samsung or iPhone to be savoured, and thankfully more and more folks seem to be gravitating toward sounds that take them there.’
The specific folkloric elements of the end deal with the myth and landscape of Ireland, and in particular, its fairy forts. Why does he think Ireland has such a rich tradition in this respect?
‘Well, there are deep folkloric traditions in many other countries, and this makes the myths and traditions in Ireland even more special, in that they are ours. The belief in things like ringforts and faeries simply stem from a deep, long-rooted respect for the land, and this respect can be seen in the traditions of many other countries. Holding onto these important yet ephemeral things is the real challenge, as the noise of modernity continues to rise.’
But he didn’t set out to write an album based around fairy forts.
‘The themes of this record definitely only emerged as I wrote it. The whole album was written and arranged in one swing, in the order the songs appear on the tracklist, so each song was directly influenced by the song that preceded it. The first song, Welcome To My Mountain, contains lyrics almost wholly lifted from an actual account an old man told of being led astray in a ringfort, which I heard from UCD’s folklore collection. I went back to the lyrics of that one, however, after discovering that online resource, later in the album’s writing.’
The End sounds like nothing else, but there are clues to some of Kealy’s potential influences in there. We spotted some Beefheart, and maybe a bit of Luke Kelly or Sweeney’s Men or outsider artists like Michael Hurley. Did we get it right? Partly, it seems.
‘For this album, I intended to evoke a sort of Irish Trad Orchestra, arranging for Accordion, Mandolin, Guitar, Drums and Tin Whistle. This was entirely inspired by Ceoltiorí Chualann, and their soundtrack for The Playboy Of The Western World, recorded in the early 1960s. I was also heavily inspired by the spirit of contemporary post-punk acts such as Gilla Band and Black Midi. The drum arrangements were inspired by Solamh Kelly’s on the Myles Manley record Cometh the Softies, and the style of John ‘Drumbo’ French from Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band also inspired the drum parts. Those were two of the main inspirations, but the energy of many, many more bands and artists can be heard on this album.’
And what about that new project?
‘I am about to go into the studio again with John ‘Spud’ Murphy, would you believe, at the end of next month. Well, believe it! I will say nothing more about this next batch of work, other than the following; I feel it will be even better, more ambitious and more accomplished than this album, and this album is the best thing I’ve ever made (artists’ own opinion). So all roads ahead, full steam upward, and away we go.’
The End (September 5th, 2025) Strap Originals
Order The End: https://orcd.co/jbtheend
Upcoming Tour Dates
September
12 CORK The Pav Sounds From a Safe Harbour Festival Album Launch
13 DUBLIN Grand Social Club Album Launch (with support from Madra Salach)
14 DUBLIN Grand Social Club Album Launch (with support from Anenome)
20 LONDON South Bank Centre QE Hall with the Incredible String Band
21 DROGHEDA Vantastival Festival
October
10 TRALEE LASTA Festival Síamsa Tire
November
9 CLONAKILTY DeBarras Samhain Festival
14 GALWAY Róisín Dubh
15 LIMERICK Upstairs at Dolan’s Warehouse
21 DERRY Sandinos
22 BANGOR Open House Festival
23 DUNDALK Spirit Store
26 BIRMINGHAM The Victoria
27 LONDON Hootananny
28 LEEDS Hyde Park Book Club
29 MANCHESTER Gulliver’s
Tickets available at: https://www.juniorbrother.com/tour