When The Emerald Armada first launched off, their ambitions were lake-sized rather than oceanic.

“We went to a fundraiser where the top prize was some free time in a recording studio,” reveals guitarist, Ben Hamilton. “My wife won it. The rest of us weren’t in a proper band together, but had all been playing a bit with Neil (Allen – vocals) and Gary (Lynas – lead guitar), so we kinda thought, why not? So, she donated the prize to us, and from there it hasn’t really stopped.”
Ironically, for a band that began in the studio, they see themselves primarily as a live act.
“We’ve all come from backgrounds in live music,” says bodhran player, Dermy Moynagh. “I grew up playing Irish trad music in places like Kelly’s Cellars. Spots like that tend to be great for crazy-heads getting up and going wild. I think that’s what playing live is all about.”
“The shows tend to be pretty raucous,” adds Ben. “I’m not sure if people know what to expect. We’re an acoustic band; we don’t use much in the way of amplification. But we can make a noise. Bouncers seem to love us. We’ve had a lot of hard looking men with shaved heads come up to us at the end of the night saying: mate, that was class.”
The band’s version of Hi-NRG folk may explain why their live fanbase has mushroomed in size this past year, but it has also – inevitably and understandably – led to a slew of Mumford and Sons comparisons. Something that doesn’t seem to bother them in the least.
“Well they are massive,” laughs Ben. “Neil has a point that Mumford & Sons spend lots of time trying to look like a traditional Irish band, but that we don’t have to strain to do that: it’s in our roots. It’s closer to home for us, it isn’t an act. It feels genuine.” And it is this background – or more accurately backgrounds – that gives the band much of its significance.
“We all come from different places,” says Ben. “If you look at Neil and myself – we’d no knowledge of Irish traditional music at all before we met Dermy. We’ve had to catch up with him because he’s the real deal when it comes to that style. So, you’ve Irish folk, but you’ve also people who have grown up on church, worship music, and people who are big heavy metal fans. We’re a diverse group of people, and it’s probably not the band or the type of music any of us would be involved with if we were left to our own devices. But I think that’s what gives it the magic. When we come together, we’re the Armada. And we all love it. I think that’s amazing, actually: that we’ve found this thing that we weren’t looking for.”
Which all sounds pretty idyllic.
“Well, it’s not quite,” says Ben. “We have our moments – especially when Dermy is off on mad time signatures, and Tony’s playing 20 notes a second. But that’s why jamming is perfect for us. We get all that out of our system in private.”