Talented Birr singer / songwriter releases second single

Mandy Mynx, a talented singer-songwriter with deep roots in Birr, Athlone and Derry has released her second single, “Golden Crown”, a song which will inspire some listeners to not let the begrudgers / critics get you down.

Mandy, a.k.a. Amanda O’Doherty Russell, told the Tribune that Golden Crown is a deeply personal song about identity, resilience, “and learning to embrace the very thing I was once made to feel self-conscious about. Growing up with naturally blonde hair, I became aware from an early age of the attention and assumptions that came with it.” She said her grandmother even hoped her hair would darken as she got older, worried about the attention it might bring. At school, she was encouraged to dye her hair darker, “while at the same time watching others lighten their own hair and hearing the familiar jokes and stereotypes about blondes. Those experiences stayed with me.

“Golden Crown is my way of reclaiming that part of myself. It speaks to the strange contradiction of being noticed for how you look while being underestimated for who you are; particularly the assumption that blonde somehow means less intelligent, less serious, or less capable.

“But while the song comes from my own experience, Golden Crown is for anyone who has ever been reduced to a stereotype, anyone who has been judged by their appearance, background, identity, accent, age, or anything else that caused people to make assumptions before taking the time to know them.

“It's for those who refused to let those assumptions define them. The ones who stood defiant and strong, held on to who they were, and turned what others used to diminish them into a source of pride.

“This isn't a song about bitterness. It's about reaching the point where you no longer need to shrink, change or explain yourself to make other people comfortable. It's about owning every part of yourself and refusing to allow someone else's perception to determine your worth."

She said the line “I think in gold, not shades of grey” sits at the heart of the song. “For me, gold represents far more than hair colour. It represents everything I've learned, everything I've built, and the strength that comes from finally accepting myself without apology. Never let anyone diminish your light. Embrace your glow – stand strong in who you are – and wear your golden crown!”

Mandy’s debut single, which was very well received, was released last December. Called “The One I Loved So Well” the track was a moving tribute to her father, Derry native Gerald “Doc” O'Doherty, who moved from the Oak Leaf County at age 16 to join the army but remained a lifelong musician. Written in the years following his 2019 passing, the song drew its title from the famous Derry anthem her father once taught her, & celebrated a bond forged in music that carried them from his northern roots to the Midlands.

Mandy’s day job is David O’Meara’s Pharmacy Plus in Birr, where she’s been for the past eleven years. She recently qualified as a pharmacy technician. “David is also a musician himself,” she says, “and has always been very encouraging of my music, and more recently my songwriting, which I’m extremely grateful for.” She was born in athlone and moved to Birr 20 years ago when she married a Birr man, Gary Russell. They have one son, Gerard. Her musical journey began over 20 years ago when she started out in a two-piece girl group called Mynx, which became a four- and five-piece band that toured around Ireland. The new single is available on all streaming platforms such as spotify, itunes, YouTube, etc. Mandy will be performing a number of live gigs, starting on September 26.