”Mundy” the self titled album available now from iTunes and most record outlets in Ireland. Including Tower Record, HMV, Tesco, XtraVision and many more.

Mundy

4 days ago

Going back to Springtown:
Mundy reflects on 21 years of Jellylegs ahead of his highly anticipated performance in Birr this Sunday

By Rebecca Kelly

For those of us from Springtown, Mundy’s Jellylegs serves not only as a defining album but also as a defining moment in the history of our beloved hometown of Birr.

For some of us, it transports us back to sun-soaked days at Oxegen music festival, draped in our green and red flags and dripping in pride, as one of our own hypnotised the masses with the anthemic Gin & Tonic Sky. For others, any mention of the hallowed album, produces a knowing nod that we knew long before the rest of the world, that this mush would go on to great things.

This Sunday (October 29), he returns for another sold out performance at Birr Theatre & Arts Centre. But, the occasion also marks the final night of his special Jellylegs 21st Anniversary Tour. 21 years since Jellylegs went on to sell 60,000 copies worldwide and 21 years since his song To You I Bestow appeared in the Hollywood blockbuster Romeo & Juliet starring Leonardo di Caprio.

“It was a whirlwind,” he says. “It happened very fast. I moved to Dublin at 17 and had a publishing deal late into my nineteenth year. It was an anxious time. When a person that age gets contracts of many pages and small print put in front of them. Everything changes, the wind and people around you.”

Mundy began playing the guitar at 14. Sessions in the Prayer Room at St Brendan’s Community School would soon follow and then he and his band were winning busking competitions in the local area, most notably Birr Vintage Week & Arts Festival. “I used to go on day trips to Dublin to buy boots and music,” he recalls. “I used to stay all day on Grafton Street soaking up the busking and I think that’s when I thought this would be my university after school.”

His pursuit of his own style of musical education then lead to a deal with Epic Records, a subsidiary of Sony and Jellylegs was born. Following it’s release to critical acclaim, he got the chance to support one of his idols. “One of my favourite memories of the time is having a few pints with Neil Young after opening up for him in the old Point Depot. He was my hero, one of my first heroes. I could play a lot of his early songs. Michelle Smyth was going for her 4th gold that night and we all watched the race in the bar like it was a normal night.”

On top of holding his own with the world’s musical elite, it was also the reaction from those in Birr that sweetened the success of his debut album. “I think everyone was really proud. I remember doing a gig in Birr, in the County Arms and the tickets weren’t cheap. My old childhood boss Paddy O’Connor promoted the show. He was a great man. I didn’t think anyone would show up but the place was rammed and people were asking me to sign autographs and looking for photographs. It blew my mind. I’ve always had great attendance when I come home to Birr. I used to get horribly nervous but now I see the bright side of a full gig! Birr is the source of my being and when I need a song or words, Birr is generous to me.”

Indeed, Birr and its many themes run strongly through Jellylegs, on Springtown, in particular. “At the moment I get a bit welled up when I play it. It’s a bittersweet song about growing up and I never edited the words. There are some words that are a bit barbed but it’s honest. There’s a line about ‘Is Trisha still teasing the men?’. I think people thought I was naming a particular girl. I wasn’t. I would never be that specific especially coming from Birr. It’s impossible to put a person’s name in a song without people reading too far into it.”


So, this Sunday, it’s ending where it all started and with the original band in tow, guitarist Steo Farrell, drummer Cion O’Callaghan and bassist Shane Fitzsimons. “It can’t be more appropriate,’ Mundy says. “I can’t think of a better place to end it and to celebrate it. It’s where I learned to play guitar and heard lots of great stories. It’s in my blood and always will be, no matter where I am. Springtown, here we come!”

Mundy, Jellylegs 21, Birr Theatre & Arts Centre, Sunday 29 October, 8pm. SOLD OUT. ... See MoreSee Less

Mundy

1 week ago

Very sad new about Sean Hughes. I hung out with him SXSW in Austin around 2001 and we stayed in contact for a while.Too young to die. May he R.I.P.🙏🏻 ... See MoreSee Less