It’s hard to believe that just two years ago, the 11 members of all-female Irish traditional music supergroup BIIRD had never played a full set together. Many had only met hours before they stepped onto London’s Trafalgar Square stage on St. Patrick’s Day 2024, dressed in bold, theatrical costumes, to perform for a crowd of 10,000. Today, they’ve sold out headline venues across the UK and Ireland, opened for global pop star Ed Sheeran on stadium tour dates across three continents, and built a devoted worldwide fanbase — all before releasing their first studio record. This staggering, organic rise has been fueled almost entirely by electric live performances and word-of-mouth buzz, a testament to the group’s one-of-a-kind energy and vision.
For Miadhachlughain O’Donnell, a County Down-based singer and flautist, the group’s current trajectory felt entirely unthinkable in the chaotic aftermath of that first show. “It was mental, to be honest,” she shared in an interview. “It all came together in the blink of an eye… We didn’t have another gig lined up for a couple of months, and I had no idea where it would go from there.”
While the group’s early path was uncertain for its members, BIIRD’s founder Lisa Canny, a seven-time All Ireland champion for harp and banjo from County Mayo, had nurtured the concept for a full decade. Often described as a rule-breaker in the traditional Irish music scene, Canny set out to create what fans now call the “Spice Girls of trad”: a collective that reimagines what women in traditional Irish music can look like and sound like.
“Beyond creating incredible music, our core mission is to reframe the narrative and image surrounding women in trad and folk music,” Canny explained. “Big global Irish productions like Riverdance, Celtic Woman, and Lord of the Dance have brought so much attention to our art form, but their representation of women still relies on outdated, one-dimensional tropes that don’t reflect the modern reality of female musicians in this space.”
Unlike many musical collectives built through formal auditions and strategic casting, BIIRD grew organically out of Canny’s existing professional network in the Irish traditional music world. Every member was hand-picked for their unique voice and talent, and the group’s size — which fluctuates between 8 and 11 performers depending on the show — was never part of the original plan. As Cavan-based concertina player Zoran Donohoe put it: “Once she handpicked all of us, we got to 11 and she just said, ‘We’re keeping all of them — every one of these women deserves a spot on this stage.’ We’re all so different, with our own individual projects and styles, and she wanted all of those voices to be heard.”
What stands out to audiences as much as the group’s size and all-female lineup is their intentional, boundary-pushing aesthetic. Partnering exclusively with Irish fashion designers including Simone Rocha, Paul Costelloe, and Sara O’Neill, the group prioritizes sustainable, dramatic couture that stands in stark contrast to the understated, casual look long associated with traditional Irish folk performance. Corsets, glitter, heavy eyeliner, and dark moody palettes shocked the traditional music world when the group released their first promotional photos. “I won’t say we broke the internet, but everyone in the trad community was asking ‘what is happening here?’” Donohoe recalled. “None of us were used to dressing like this — I’d always worn trackies to gigs before, it was a total learning curve. But now we love it; every show feels like putting on a performance from the moment we get dressed.”
Despite their modern styling and contemporary edge, BIIRD’s sound remains firmly rooted in Irish tradition. Their high-energy sets blend classic trad instrumentation — fiddles, flutes, harps, banjos, cellos, and concertinas — with Irish lilting and a pop-infused energy that comes from years of playing intimate pub céilís, house parties, and regional folk festivals. “We’re not here to reinvent traditional Irish music,” O’Donnell emphasized. “We’re just here to bring a new perspective to it.”
Their big break into mainstream fame came by chance, during an impromptu jam session at a County Wexford pub during the 2024 Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, where Ed Sheeran caught their set. Sheeran, who famously collaborated with Irish trad group Beoga on his hit “Galway Girl”, immediately invited BIIRD to join his ongoing *Loop* world tour as opening acts, alongside other up-and-coming Irish artists. “He just came up to us after the jam and said, ‘You guys are incredible, come on tour — what do you need from me?’ It was surreal,” Donohoe said.
Since then, the group has joined Sheeran for sell-out stadium runs across the UK, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, and is set to join the tour for North American dates later in 2026. Between tour stops, they’ve been recording their debut album of original compositions at the iconic Decoy Studios in Melton, England, with the project on track for release in the near future. Donohoe says the recording process has been seamless, thanks to the close bond the group has built over two years of touring: “We’re all used to each other now, we can be honest about what works and what doesn’t, and it just flows.”
For the members of BIIRD, the success they’ve found is about more than sold-out shows and global tours: it’s about paving the way for the next generation of female traditional Irish musicians. O’Donnell says young girls have already reached out to the group to say they’ve been inspired to pick up traditional instruments after seeing BIIRD perform. “I hope we’re laying the groundwork for something that lasts longer than our time as a group,” she said. “In 10 or 20 years, there might be new groups like BIIRD taking this space, and that’s exactly what we want. Our mission was never just about us — it was about changing the scene for good.”