Local hero Leahy drops brand new track

A Cork musician who uses his voice to empower and fight for those who need it the most has released a new single condemning the Government’s lifting of the eviction ban in 2023.

Singer-songwriter and campaigner Martin Leahy’s new track ‘It’s For Your Own Good’ released this month.

Set as a dark lullaby, it deals with the issue of child homelessness in Ireland and the current housing crisis.

“I wrote this after Fianna Fáil's Barry Cowen argued a case in the Dáil for the Government’s inhumane lifting of the eviction ban in March 2023,” explains Leahy.

“He said, ‘It’s like making sweets free for children. It’s fine for a little while but ultimately detrimental to the greater need’. It was a particularly cruel comment considering the amount of children that were going to be made homeless by lifting the eviction ban,” Martin said.

Leahy has been writing and releasing solo music for the past few years. His song ‘Snowflakes’ was covered by Christy Moore on his new album ‘A Terrible Beauty’ which came out at the start of this month and, as of writing this article, sits at No. 1 in the Irish Album Charts.

‘Snowflakes’ is related to Leahy’s own experience of social media trolling. A version of Christy Moore playing the song in Dublin earlier this year was shared by the band Lankum on the platform X and is at almost half a million views. Leahy joined Moore at Vicar Street and The Cork Opera House recently where they performed ‘Snowflakes’ together.

In 2022, Leahy received nationwide attention when he released his song, ‘Everyone Should Have A Home’. He has been travelling from Cork to Dublin every week to protest outside Dáil Éireann by singing the song to passing TDs since May 2022.

Leahy says: “There are 4,489 children homeless in Ireland today. Shortly after the eviction ban was lifted, DePaul released a report that said, ‘Due to a shortage of temporary homeless accommodation for families, mothers are leaving their children in the care of family members in order to access homeless services’.”

Leahy has performed at all of the major cost of living crisis protests in Dublin and in Cork in recent times, including the Raise The Roof Protest in Dublin.

He also has written a number of songs in solidarity with the people of Palestine and performs weekly at the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign protests. His song ‘Palestine’ has been shared multiple times on platforms including including Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye and by the activist and musician Lowkey.

Before he began his journey as a solo musician, Leahy spent close to 25 years a session musician on the Irish music scene. He has worked with some of Ireland's greatest songwriters and musicians, including John Spillane, Ger Wolfe, Jimmy McCarthy, Cormac O Caoimh, Seamus Begley and Jim Murray, Noel Brazil, and Declan Sinnott.

Martin Leahy’s new single ‘It’s For Your Own Good’ is available on his YouTube page. You can also find his work on Spotify.