![\"Lyra,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/4851075_4_articleinlinemobile_Photo_2030-09-2025_2c_2017_2035_2059.jpg\" "\\"Lyra,")
Lyra, before her NFL appearance.<\/p>\nAs she was about to step onto Croke Park to perform in front of over 74,000 NFL fans, nothing could have stopped Lyra from singing her heart out \u2014 not even a faulty earpiece.<\/p>\n
In a dress covered in glitter, with shoulder pads adorned with green and gold, she made Amhr\u00e1n na bhFiann her own.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t do anything in halves. I got the custom nails, outfit, mic,\u201d she says as we grab tea in the Maryborough Hotel in Douglas.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just love a bit of drama. It\u2019s obviously massively an American audience, so I thought it was a good time for us to show off a bit and be like: \u2018We are Irish, and look what we can do.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a very proud Irish woman. I\u2019m very proud to be an Irish artist. I couldn\u2019t be more Cork if you kicked me in the face,\u201d she smiles.<\/p>\n
As she experienced technical issues before her performance, she asked herself: \u201cAre you going to crumble because your ears aren\u2019t working? You\u2019ve rehearsed it, you know this. Take this moment and bloody shine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her performance received a glowing response from Irish and American fans alike. Former NFL star Jason Kelce, soon to be brother-in-law to superstar Taylor Swift, said she \u201cbrought the house down\u201d.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s something she intends to keep on doing as she embarks on her tour across Ireland.<\/p>\n
The Bandon popstar is known for her honey-like yet strong vocals, as well as her detailed and sparkly outfits.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually had my first fitting in yesterday. I think the outfits are getting smaller. It\u2019s getting a bit scary,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you think of an outfit in your head and you\u2019re like, \u2018Is someone gonna get my vision?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Usually, Liza Brennan \u2014 who owns Cork business Phoenix V \u2014 gets that vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe come together and collaborate to get them sketched up,\u201d Lyra explains. \u201cI\u2019m very lucky that I\u2019ve worked with Liza for years, my last tour was all Phoenix.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the last six months, she has been prepping for her tour. She teases an album, which \u201cfingers crossed\u201d should be out next year. Fans can expect a \u201csong or two\u201d from that album to get their first outing on tour.<\/p>\n
She says: \u201cIt\u2019s always great to see people\u2019s instant reaction to something. Whether they\u2019re moving along, start chatting or use it to go to the loo. You\u2019re like \u2018I need to reconsider something here\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
She may perform an unreleased song then and there, but would always make sure her public can \u201cenjoy the songs they\u2019ve fallen in love with\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went to Lana Del Rey, she sang some new songs, and I found it really hard to connect with them because I hadn\u2019t heard them before. I did enjoy them, but you\u2019re still only getting one,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she went back to Video Games, which is years old, I was in awe, and so was the rest of the crowd.<\/p>\n
\n \u201cYou play the songs people are familiar with, that\u2019s what they love. That\u2019s what they\u2019re there for, so I\u2019m going to give them that.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
On stage, she invites her fans to join her weird club and to be their unique selves. By remaining authentic, Lyra has become a role model for some.<\/p>\n
She often receives messages from thankful parents. She remembers one in particular from a father who saw his bullied little girl get \u201cher spark back\u201d after attending a show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat means a lot to me,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are these little kids coming that are being bullied in school and they leave there feeling empowered. What more do you want?<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I come off stage, I\u2019d be bawling up in the hotel room, and then I\u2019d read them to my sister. She\u2019d be bawling, then we\u2019d all be bawling because she has kids, so she relates to the parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyra, before her NFL appearance.<\/p>\n
At the start, she was nervous to be perceived as a role model.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was like, \u2018Jesus, am I okay to be a role model?\u2019 I love going out on the lash on a Saturday night. What if somebody saw me like absolutely off, drunk on love,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re looking for me to be a pioneer. I think they\u2019re just looking for somebody in the spotlight who\u2019s just saying it how it is. And that\u2019s what I do.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the testament that hard work does pay off and that being yourself is worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
The messages she receives on social media are not always the nicest. And being in the public eye, she says she has come to expect comments on her body.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got a message the other day saying how I had gotten skinny and how all my curves have gone down. It was so disappointing to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was kind of like, I agree with you. I miss my arse and I miss my legs, but I\u2019m under so much stress
getting ready for tour, trying to write my second album. I haven\u2019t planned on losing this weight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m in the gym because I\u2019m getting tour ready. I\u2019m dancing on stage for an hour and 15 minutes. It\u2019s not easy, I\u2019m not going to roll out of bed and be able to do that. I was a little bit disheartened. I was like, \u2018I hope people aren\u2019t going to think that I\u2019m just getting on the skinny train\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI prefer it to sound good on stage than look how people want me to look. And I\u2019ll always get my ass back because I love food, I\u2019m just stressed out,\u201d she laughs.<\/p>\n
For Lyra, as no doubt it is for many of us, her relationship with social media is love\/hate.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do I just spend a day doing a reel? But then if you don\u2019t do it, how do people find you? How do people engage with you?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
She returns to her earlier point of the importance of empowering her younger fans: \u201cI see my little niece, she\u2019s only six and certain things she says\u2026 How do you even think like that? Not liking her freckles or her hair\u2019s too dark, or somebody in school said her skin\u2019s too squidgy or too white.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the younger generation are looked after enough and that\u2019s why we do have a lot of mental health issues.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m gonna sing it from fucking rooftops, go into one of their schools and be like, \u2018Bullying is not cool\u2019. You need to spread love. Everyone\u2019s different, everyone\u2019s unique. It\u2019d be so boring if we were all the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sometimes, she feels people might see a \u201cpolished\u201d version of herself on TV or in magazines. But on her days off, she says you can find her at home cleaning, eating ice cream, or watching murder documentaries.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like people would be surprised to know how low-maintenance I actually am,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople have this perception of me that I am high-end glam, the lifestyle of a pop star, always going places. But I\u2019m a very basic bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a fast-moving industry, she never takes her success for granted. The one thing she finds hard to grapple with is how \u201cdisposable\u201d artists are.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re only as good as your last record,\u201d she says. \u201cThere are so many singers, songwriters, and performers in the world, that you are always replaceable. I could be out the door, and I find I really struggle with that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The trick to not ruminating on such anxieties? Savouring every moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting the album to number one… I never thought I\u2019d get number one. I was up against Beyonc\u00e9,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was almost living my life feeling like a failure when I wasn\u2019t. I\u2019d set myself too high expectations. If I get those bits along the way, extra bonus. And if I don\u2019t, I\u2019m not gonna go home crying about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyra does not shy away from writing about her pain. From the grief of losing her nan to a tough breakup, there is not much she would not write about.<\/p>\n
She almost named her ex-boyfriend in a song once \u2014 but decided against naming and shaming and eventually renamed the song The Ending.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt ends with \u2018I just want to have someone to have an intellectual conversation with\u2019. And that\u2019s what he said to me when we were breaking up. I met a few of his friends after and they said I was cutthroat.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that\u2019s what he said. So why am I being cutthroat? You did something shitty. You hurt someone. They\u2019re calling you out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Looking back, she says she has sacrificed a lot to get where she is today. A future partner will have to share the vision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew from a very young age that this is what I wanted to do. So why should someone stop [my] dream?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the right person, they take that dream and they help you to get there. They don\u2019t try and quench it or they don\u2019t try and pull you back from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe deserve to live our lives for ourselves. We only get one.\u201d<\/p>\n