Songwriter Rob Fitzpatrick to play at Fields of Éire Festival

A MUSICIAN with strong roots in Firhouse is set to appear at one of the UK’s leading Irish music celebrations this summer.

Mandolin player and songwriter Rob Fitzpatrick will take to the stage at the Fields of Éire Irish Music Festival with his band Thrifty Malone.

Rob spent his early years in Firhouse, attending Scoil Treasa in the early 1980s, and his upbringing in the area continues to shape his songwriting today.

Now part of the Gibraltar-based four-piece Thrifty Malone, Rob plays a key creative role as both a musician and songwriter.

This week, The Echo sat down with Robin to discuss Thrifty Malone being announced as part of this year’s Fields of Éire line-up, taking place at Newsham Park in Liverpool on June 5 and 6.

The band will perform on the latter day, joining a bill that includes major Irish acts such as Aslan, Nathan Carter and The Whistlin’ Donkeys.

What can you tell us about yourself and the band Thrifty Malone? What’s the story behind its formation?

Thrifty Malone originally started out as a covers band back in 2009. The early lineup featured our current bass player Trevor Emmett alongside our late singer Neal Higgins.

They were soon joined by vocalist and harmonica player Paul “Zooney” Alexander, along with his son Mark Alexander on lead guitar.

Our lineup in 2015 included Paul, Neal, Trevor, Alan Jenkins on lead guitar, Martin Winterstein-Smith on drums, and myself on mandolin and vocals.

In 2019, we released our first original track, “Six Hours Down the Road”, and had the incredible opportunity to play the MTV Gibraltar Calling Festival with Liam Gallagher, Slade, Take That, and Steve Harley.

We followed that up with another original song, “Henry Street” before COVID hit. We lost Neal to the virus, which was a devastating blow, and Paul later moved back to the UK.

Since then, we’ve carried on as a four piece and have continued writing and developing original material.

Would there be any influences on the band’s style of music? If so, how and why?

Our original material is heavily influenced by my Irish background, both musically and culturally.

Alan has strong Irish roots himself, being related to Bill Gannon, who captained Kildare to win the 1928 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final and was the first Captain to lift the Sam Maguire Cup

As a band, we also share a real love for artists like The Saw Doctors, The Fureys, The Dubliners, The Waterboys, and Steve Earle.

Martin wrote “Back in Killarney” inspired by his love of travelling over from the UK for fishing trips in Killarney. Trevor wrote most of “Rocket Ship”, and that came out of the feeling many people had during lockdown.

The band has built a growing following across Gibraltar, Spain and the UK, and have shared stages with respected artists. What were these experiences like? Could you ever have imagined the band would become this successful?

I wouldn’t necessarily describe it as “success” in the traditional sense.

Of course, we love what we do, and sure, it would be amazing if one of our songs went viral, but for us it’s about playing live and having people hear our music.

Working with Steve Wickham has been a standout moment for us, probably the pinnacle so far. The first song I ever learnt on guitar was Fisherman’s Blues, and I’ve always loved it, so to end up recording with him is something I never could have imagined.

He could easily have said no, but he liked our track “All Those Summers Ago” and agreed to play on it.

Having someone of his calibre involved felt like real validation for the band, and he was incredibly generous with his time and talent.

What was involved in securing your spot in the line-up for the Fields of Éire festival? Was it always a plan to perform at this festival one day?

Often it comes down to someone being willing to take a chance on you.

We’ve been fortunate in that sense, having had opportunities at festivals like MTV Gibraltar Calling, the UK West Coast Folk Festival, and the Cheshire Folk Festival.

For Fields of Éire, it was a similar process.

I submitted our press kit along with some of our original material, and the organiser, Declan Doolin, came back to us and offered us a slot, which we were absolutely delighted about.

The festival itself has been on a bit of a break in recent years, and with Declan bringing it back just as we were actively looking to play more Irish-focused festivals, the timing couldn’t have been better.

It’s one of the key festivals on the circuit, alongside events like Craic by the Creek and Páirc, so it’s a great opportunity for us.

What were the band’s immediate reactions to the line-up announcement? You mentioned it brought back memories of your time growing up in Firhouse.

We were absolutely delighted when we saw the line-up announced.

Getting the chance to play any festival is special, but to be part of an Irish festival performing our own original, Irish-inspired material feels like a real moment for us.

We were also really pleased to see the names on the bill. Aslan are a band we’ve always followed. After the sad loss of Christy Dignam, it’s great to see the lads back out there again.

It’s not so much that the festival itself reminds me directly of Firhouse, but it gives me the chance to bring those memories to life through the songs.

Things like stories of the Hellfire Club, listening to records around Rathfarnham, or sitting by the River Dodder with a packet of Sam Spudz and red lemonade, just passing time with school friends.

A lot of our songs are rooted in those kinds of memories and stories, from young love on Henry Street to emigration stories like leaving Ireland on the Princess Maud in the 1960s, to playing in small Irish bars, or even tales of miners who left during the Great Hunger to seek a new life in America and holidays spent in places like Killarney.

Does Thrifty Malone have any more gigs or projects planned for the rest of 2026?

We’ll be continuing to gig regularly across Gibraltar and Spain, and we’re always putting ourselves forward for more festivals wherever we can.

On the recording side, we’ve got a lot more original material in the pipeline, and we’re also working towards putting an album together, which is something we’re really excited about.

Who would you like to thank for helping to make this possible?

First and foremost, we’d like to thank our wives, families, and friends for their continued support; it really means a lot.

We’d like to give a special mention to Declan Doolin, organiser of Fields of Éire, for giving us the opportunity.

We’re very grateful to the venues, promoters, radio stations, presenters, playlist curators, and press who’ve supported us, along with everyone who comes out to see us or listens to our music.

Thanks as well to you and the Echo team for the opportunity to be part of this article.

And finally, thank you to everyone attending Fields of Éire for supporting live music.