Dea Matrona

The Irish rock duo Dea Matrona met in a competitive setting.

In the early years of their teens, singers and multi-instrumentalists Mollie McGinn and Orláith Forsythe laid the foundations of their friendship while both were taking part in an Irish-language singing competition, before joining forces to play together on the streets of Belfast.

That was the start of nearly ten years as musical partners. Dea Matrona's rise rests on a fierce DIY mentality: over the years on stage the duo refined their sound, built a loyal fanbase and self-funded their own releases.

Their debut album, For Your Sins, released in 2024, reached number one on the Independent Breakers chart, was played on BBC Radio 1, took them to Glastonbury and also won them the support slot on tour for Canadian rockers The Beaches.

This summer, the duo will accompany the icon Sting on the road, carrying their hybrid sound to even bigger stages.

As they prepare to release their long-awaited second album, Hate That I Care (due 5 June 2026 via AWAL), Dea Matrona is moving up a gear, tackling the personal and political issues that have shaped them as a band.

The new record explores themes of female empowerment and identity through an Irish lens, as well as the feeling of being an outsider, both musically and deeply personally. McGinn sums it up aptly: « We're so eager to release this album.

We feel it resembles us more, that it is more aware of the world around us, of how we fit into it, and that it says more clearly what we want to say.