Songs of the blackberry path: Tia Bow maps a journey from the Troubles to discovery

Blackberry Path is a forthcoming album by Belfast-based songwriter Tia Bow (Fionnuala Fagan-Thiébot), with her bandmates Clare Galway and Danny Trouton. Their one-hour live performance of all of the album’s songs delved into Fagan-Thiébot’s personal narrative, exploring themes of life’s unpredictable journey, self-discovery, friendship, love, loss, care, and hope. The performance took place at the Sanctuary Theatre, itself a former church and space of reflection, and was part of the Eastside Arts Festival. 

Róisin Whyte provided a support act, singing primarily her own songs while playing guitar. For example, her second song was The Purple Hand Gang, with its theme of blackberries (appropriately enough) and pickers identifiable by purple hands. Whyte’s fifth and final song was a cover version of “Star Star”, as a tribute to the recently deceased Glen Hansard.

Fagan-Thiébot introduced herself with an explanation behind the main theme of a blackberry path:

“The Blackberry Path is a time capsule; a place of dappled light, where the Atlantic Ocean can lull you into a thousand Donegal dreams, only to catch you off guard and pull you under a relentless, rolling wave.

“Though we each have our own path to follow, in this moment, we are all here, together, travelling.

“The world can be a heavy place to live. We each carry that weight.

“Growing up, here, in the ‘80s and ‘90s — the things we couldn’t say hung in the air, diminishing pieces of us.”

Before playing her first song, La Fosse, she described how when she was a teenager, she escaped to France and spent her summers working in a guesthouse on the Breton coastline. She found this place, La Fosse, setting a “new normal”: “afternoon sea swimming, evening picnics on the beach, and nights danced away to Alanis Morrisette and The Fugees”. Fagan-Thiébot added that she learned that “hate” is never the right word, saw inclusion and diversity, and felt acceptance.

Before singing her eponymous song, she explained that sense of belonging in France made her look back at where it all began:

“We each have our own story of beginning. The place where we took the first step onto the path. For me, that was Craigavon — in a childhood shaped under the shadow of armed conflict, besides hedgerows and Damson trees, on black bicycle paths, inside the kind embrace of friendship.”

Subsequent songs reflected points further along the path: as a mother (“a child arrives to rewrite the map”); destiny (“ghosts of opportunities missed”); companionship (“choosing another person… brings you home”); grief (“for our beloved ones, passed, and for those of us still finding the way without them”); guardianship (“that person who holds up their lantern, when our own light has dimmed”); care (“the healers, the observers, the quite ones”); and revelation (“the thicket thins… a journey from darkness into light”).

Tia Bow’s final song performance was “Donegal Dreams”, reminding the audience that the blackberry path is never a straight line:

“It is a tangle of highs and lows, of moments where we conquer the world and moments when we retreat, to grow, ready for the next adventure. With one foot in front of the other, every step brings us closer to the understanding of ourselves and what it means to walk the Blackberry Path.”

Hot Press magazine describes the Blackberry Path album as a sound that “bridges folk, rock, and electronica”. Tia Bow’s style can also be called “folktronic”, with its blend of electronic textures and powerful songwriting. Think Portishead meets Mary Black.

The composition and tone of the songs were as varied as the emotions they were meant to provoke. This was complemented by the talented repertoire of the band’s musicians: Fagan-Thiébot played several instruments (guitar, violin, and keyboard), well accompanied by musicians Clare Galway (on keyboard and backing vocals) and Danny Trouton (on guitar and drums).

Blackberry Path is a departure from Tia Bow’s music based more on oral tradition. Yet it is richer for weaving her personal story with universal experiences, presented in a contemporary style that pays homage to cultural traditions. Blackberry Path is inspired by specific places and human connection, and speaks to everyone on its journey.

Blackberry Path is due for release in November 2026. Further information is available at Tia Bow’s Instagram account.

Cross-published at Mr Ulster.