On the morning of her latest single’s release, Lyra is as always an animated bundle of joy wrapped up in blonde hair and a charming Cork accent. The electropop princess, born Laura McNamara, has been making waves in the music industry since 2016 with the release of her first EP W.I.L.D. Having signed with Universal in 2017, the singer-songwriter has been popping up everywhere ever since – appearing on U2’s 30th anniversary rework of The Joshua Tree, at countless festivals, and now even in the South African wilderness on your TV screens. From her larger than life outfits to her powerhouse voice, Lyra is known and beloved for her down-to-earth character and lighting up a room with laughs. I sat down with the Bandon native to talk about overcoming difficulties, what keeps the artist going, and being part of the Weird Club.
Greeting me in a bright pink shirt and tie, Lyra is true to her vivid self even on a morning at home in Cork. After a rollercoaster of a decade, she tells me this era is “definitely a very confident Lyra, an unapologetic Lyra, a Lyra who has decided to live her own life for herself in the best possible way”. The singer-songwriter feels finally as if she’s turned a corner in all aspects of her life, describing a “newfound confidence” in herself. She accredits a great deal of this to her first album, LYRA, achieving number one in the charts in 2024 and likens it to “getting that big pat on the back from Ireland”. When asked if it all comes alive on stage, she throws her head back as if there were no one way to say it. “It’s just next-level […] It’s somewhere where I become like the ten-year-old girl again that wanted to be, not even a pop star because I’m not that” she says with genuine humility, “but like this star on the stage, and I forget everything”.
Though Lyra is beaming these days, it wasn’t always an easy road. Starting out in the music industry, she faced many criticisms. Told that she didn’t look like a pop star and that her diction was bad, Lyra remembers how after recording sessions other singers would be brought in to record ‘th’ and ‘t’ sounds over her songs. After suffering an eating disorder due to industry pressures and taking time to come home and look after an ill family member, she is once again back on top, telling me “so here she is now living her best era, loving life with cellulite and bingo wings!”.
There’s no sign of Lyra slowing down any time soon. She recently appeared on the RTÉ show Unchartered where she was paired up with former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and had her survival skills put to the test – the unlikely duo we never knew we needed, the pair were so iconic that one would almost consider forgiving Leo Varadkar for the housing crisis – almost. Chatting with me from her sister’s home in Cork, the singer is fresh off the school run with her nieces and nephews. Though she says she would love it if it was all brunch and mimosas with the girls like people think, when she’s at home it really is all about her family, gushing “my family are my everything”. Especially now that recording her second album often keeps her in the UK, it’s important as ever to her to ensure that all her time spent at home is quality time.
With a new anthem hot off the press marking a new era of empowerment, Lyra is on cloud nine. Does this mean she’s on the dating scene again? With a cheeky, knowing grin she tells me, “I am dating, I’m seeing somebody at the moment […] If we break up you’ll hear about it because there’ll be a ballad.”
Lyra’s Weird Club is now in full swing, having been a term she’d been using at gigs for years. The talent tells me of how she always looks to create a connected environment at her shows, breaking down the barriers between audience and performer. She shares that when she gets on stage, she lets the crowd know “this is a Lyra show. It’s going to get weird and wonderful, I can’t dance to save my life, my sucky-in knickers are cutting off circulation to my head, let’s just roll with it.” With effortless wit, she explains that the concept of Weird Club has been around subconsciously for years before it was a song, “I have to bring out an anthem for my Weird Club members”.
Bursting with a message of inclusivity and championing self-expression, the single’s catchy hook “she, he, they, them” positions it to be one of joy in time for Pride Month. Lyra acknowledges this, sharing about her experiences of receiving messages from people struggling to come out and lending friendly advice. “There’s no rhyme or reason to it, there’s no rules, there’s just what feels right to them,” she notes, “I felt like I owed it to be a club for everyone […] No matter how you want to identify, everyone and anyone, the big bold and beautiful world of colour which I love to live in”. Speaking on her wide LGBTQ+ fanbase, she smiles as she remarks “there’s always an aura of glitter around everyone […] Just a beautiful community to be accepted into.”
As she accelerates on her track to take over, what can we expect to see from Lyra soon? “Loads of music,” her face reveals the heft of her plans as she says so, “which I’m so excited about I could bloody die”. With eager fan anticipation for her new set of iconic shows, whatever may be in store for the singer is sure to impress. Leading the way with her daring Weird Club in tow, Lyra is one to keep watching.
