Longford's Mick Cronin interview about his life in the music industry

Brothers Michael “Mick” and Jonathan Cronin are from Drumlish, Co Longford, but have also lived in England. They originally started with the Aftermath upon returning to Ireland, but after beginning to release songs independently, their success began to expand. Mick Cronin has spoken to the Longford Leader about life in a band, as well as the importance of Longford roots.

Mick Cronin is a musician of the band. Cronin has been the most frequent performer for the Marquee in Drumlish. They also have Transmission Rooms Recording Studio in Drumlish, which has been used by multiple artists .Cronin have been affiliated with Shane McGowen. Having the attitude to do things themselves which has led to much success, their music is recorded in Transmission Rooms. Cronin may be named after the brothers, but the band includes Brian Murphy from Mullingar and Fiachra Milner.

Proud to be from Longford, with a love of the town’s chips and culture, Mick Cronin delved into his backstory and what being in a band is like.

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How did the band come together?
I suppose I was born. Me and Johnny have been playing together, not initially, but at the turn of the century; around the 2000s. We came back to Ireland and it did seem like a good time. We played with The Frames. Everything in England was not great. Our father died, we missed Ireland and we decided to do it properly. We came back to Ireland and then we started the Aftermath, and we were caught by major labels in the UK. It was taking too much time, wasting 3 or 4 years with that really. We didn’t get a deal someone we knew said we dodged a bullet. We started to release stuff ourselves. We had one top ten, three top twenties and an album as the top 200 Irish albums which creates support.
So that band ran its course and then we started the Cronin project with two new members. We’ve had this great success since then.

How did Longford and surrounding areas help influence your creative journey?
Completely. I think the one thing with Longford, especially Drumlish, is that if you say you’re going to try, you’re not joking with Declan Nerney, Noel Cassidy–it’s a hub. It still is. There’s more success from bands around Longford than even Galway city. It was a huge success that way. There were always good teachers and music around. Fiddler Kiernan had the tunes and people came to be taught by him. He was from Drumlish. There’s a statue by his house near Cairn Hill. There’s always a hub.

Would you be able to tell me about your Longford background?
Me and my brother were from Drumlish. We attended the national school. Our family had a cottage from the 1790s, which is on the records. We go back a long way.

I read that you were in the UK for some time, so do you have any influences from there as well, as well as Ireland?
Of course. We were all over. With Brit pop. But it was a strange time in the late eighties, I was only 10. It wasn’t cool to be Irish. There were two things, “The Commitments” and Boyzone which changed things. Girls looked at you, then. Irish bands, Oasis, their families. It was a great time to be around music, of course, that influence is around.

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The Marquee in Drumlish; how have you found it?
We’re not doing it this year so we’re going to Oasis in Aviva Dublin. I’m doing two gigs with the Stone Roses after show. We’ve done the marquee twelve times–the most of any band that’s been down there. It’s great coming home; bad hangovers the next day. There’s power to it. It’s nothing without Declan. He put Drumlish on the map. With Joe Dolan as well from Mullingar.

It’s just always great coming home to play. When travelling, we used to stop for the chips. They’re still good chips in Luigi's.

How do you create your music? What is the process like?
My brother, Johnny, gets something ready and puts it into shape. I’m a great editor with my work and various other bands. Johnny the boy who comes up with these ideas, and then we shape it together. We have a recording studio in Drumlish. We do everything there. After the success of the Aftermath, we always wanted to branch out. We got fed up with studio bills. We made a few bobs with bricks and water. We were working with different engineers and they were, like, can we bring some bands down because everyone was getting good results. Codaline’s first two records were done there. From Drumlish to no. 1 in America. Shane McGowen as well, he was in Drumlish five times. Declan McKenna was a big UK pop star. Not many people have not been through the doors. It’s got a good name in the Irish community.

Where has been the favourite place you have performed?
Apart from the Marquee in Drumlish, we’ve had some great gigs all over England and Europe. One magic night would’ve been a small gig in Soho, which was the most famous jazz club, Ronnie Scott’s–a Palestine benefit by Bella Freud, the fashion designer. On the bill was Noel Gallagher, Jules Holland…you were star-studded. Naomi Campbell. Rock stars, film stars. Gillian Anderson. A memorable night–and a really bad hangover. And then we had to go to the flight home.

Could you tell me about "Overlooking Paris" which came out this year?
That’s a new single and EP coming out soon. The new label is coming out in January to the start of 2026. A few quiet gigs. Not as much this year. We’ve got Electric Picnic coming up and Shine On in the UK, and Holland Norway. Not many Irish gigs this year but a few.

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Any advice for aspiring Longford musicians?
Just keep going and keep doing it. The more you do it the better you become. Whether it be songwriting, singing, playing, etc. Your gut is always the one to listen to. If it feels like the wrong decision, it probably is. And that’s the same with life. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is. We always try to fly the flag for Longford. We’re proud Longford men, and the same with anyone who pursues the arts from Longford.