Cliffords: Cork’s Loudest Rising Noise
Words: Rachel Hannon
Photography: George Voronov
District and Beamish have been working on something special. Beamish has set up the Beamish Breakthrough Bursary in order to champion artists break down barriers to success and to champion promising musicians from across the country. The bursary’s support will include creative services such as photography and branding, as well as studio hire, and a financial investment to actualise the bands’ vision for their future. We worked with Beamish to select two bands who exemplify excellence within the Irish music world right now. The first band to receive this bursary is Cliffords.
Cliffords are a band who are becoming impossible to ignore. They’ve brought their diary scribbles onto stages from Ballincollig to Glastonbury, stitching Cork’s streets and landscapes into anthems with universal confession that hit like a punch to the chest. This is not just hype. This is a band on the verge of something big and beautiful.
Origins
Cliffords’ story begins at school. From swapping instruments they barely knew how to play, figuring it out in garages, and packing out Cork’s iconic Fred Zepplin’s. A UCC Battle of the Bands win in 2022 put wheels in motion. Over time, the current Cliffords line up was locked in place. Iona Lynch (vocals/guitar), Gavin Dawkins (bass/trumpet), Harry Menton (lead guitar), and Locon O’Toole (keys). By 2024, the local buzz had become undeniable.
The Sound
At the heart of Cliffords sound is Iona Lynch’s voice. Raw emotion sharpened into melody, with lyrics that stop you in your tracks. Their debut EP Strawberry Scented proved that they weren’t just another Cork Indie Band. Think Wolf Alice inspired, The Cranberries’ confessional weight, and a front person who can hush a whole room, then explodes with one chorus. Cliffords aren’t blind to the flaws in the industry and beyond. Lynch has spoken out about things like the structural and cultural barriers facing women and non-binary artists in Ireland, the genocide in Gaza, personal cultural identity, and everyday life issues. Their ethos is very clear: call it out, don’t accept it, and change the system. This attitude bleeds into their music and their presence on stage. Proof that being loud isn’t just about sound.
Notable Tracks:
The Rise
2022’s first single ‘Antihero’ lit the fuse, but Strawberry Scented in 2024 made people pay attention. By 2025, their follow-up EP Salt of the Lee and statement singles ‘Bittersweet’ and ‘My Favourite Monster’ showed they were operating on another level, with Sony UK distribution giving them reach far beyond Cork. From The Great Escape showcases, to Forbidden Fruit, All Together Now, Dermot Kennedy’s Misneach festival in Australia, the band’s sound has travelled fast. Their Glastonbury 2025 set, and their performance of ‘My Favourite Monster’ on BBC felt less like a debut and more like a coronation. To add to that, they are fresh from supporting Kings of Leon and Queens of the Stone Age.
What’s Next?
Their next chapter is definitely something worth the anticipation. They have announced a winter headline tour including a gig in The Academy on November 12, and a homecoming in Cork City Hall on November 15, marking their biggest headline yet. As part of the ‘Beamish Breakthrough’, they have now gone into writing mode: plotting a darker, heavier chapter while keeping Cork’s pulse in the lyrics. As part of this campaign, the band will go to Black Mountain Recording Studios to write, record, and experiment. Long term, Cliffords are building for distance, shaping themselves into global noise.
Irish music has always thrived at grassroots level. Built in bedrooms, back rooms, and borrowed spaces before spilling onto bigger world stages. Cliffords are part of that same tradition, now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with a new wave reshaping the country’s sound. Like Fontaines D.C., CMAT, and The Murder Capital before them, they prove that Ireland’s scene isn’t just surviving, it’s evolving. Young, politically awake, and melodically fearless, Cliffords aren’t the future of Irish music; they’re already here, making noise in the present. As they should be.
Please enjoy Beamish responsibly. Visit www.drinkaware.ie for more information.
District and Beamish have been working on something truly special. In order to break down the barrier to success and champion our favourite musicians in the country, Beamish have set up a bursary called the Beamish Breakthrough and have just chosen two bands who exemplify the excellence of the Irish music world right now. The funding will be a combination of cash and services to propel their career. This includes press shots, PR, branding, studio hire and financial investment to actualise their vision for the future of their band. One of those bands is Cliffords.
