McConville grew up in the 1980’s amidst the constant turmoil of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, and all the dark days that came with it. In spite of the difficult times, those early years were among the happiest of his life. Strong community connections and life-long friendships helped him to flourish as an artist and musician.
Aged seventeen, Mark swapped Lurgan for London where he joined a punk band and spent five years busking and dodging the metropolitan police in tube stations.
Track Of The Day: Rodney Owl’s latest offering “I’m Dead” is a stand alone single written in anticipation of the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when the veil between this world and The Otherworld
(An Saol Eile) of spirits and faeries is at its thinnest.
He also stacked shelves, dug holes, people watched and broadened his horizons.
In summer of 1996 he arrived in Galway with a tent and a tenner and hit the streets to busk.
He soon began to draw regular crowds and attracted the attention of a manager in the Quays bar where he played his first gigs in the city.
In the years since McConville has become a staple of the local music scene, playing in numerous bands such as renowned live act No Banjo and original alt rockers Cartoon Thieves.
His second album “Truth is Broken” released in April 2023, showcases the singularly unique brilliance of McConville’s songwriting and musicianship, as produced by the renowned Alex Borwick and the Black Gate Label. With influences as diverse as Aldous Harding, Lumen Drones, Velvet Underground, The Smiths and Sly & The Family Stone, Truth Is Broken carves out a unique and compelling space for Rodney Owl in the Irish musical landscape.
McConville’s songs are evocative yet elusive – filled with abstract lyricism and musical dynamism. He defines his music as Electric Folk and it is in turn breathless, immersive, thought-provoking, quirky and whimsical…sometimes all at once.
He currently lives a quasi-reclusive life in rural west of Ireland, finding inspiration in his family and surroundings – an ancient Celtic rainforest, dogs and cats for companions, and a multitude of feathered friends.