Ballinasloe’s Rachel Goode on balancing music and motherhood

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Ballinasloe singer Rachel Goode has opened up about how her music career has changed since the birth of her first child.

The Birchgrove native welcomed her baby girl, Seoidín, into her life just 10 months ago, and has quickly gotten back in the swing of her singing career.

"I absolutely love being a mam, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me," Rachel told the Westmeath Independent. "At the same time, my career is still so important to me. I don't know who I would be without my singing, it's a huge part of my identity.

"I really didn't think I would be back gigging so much while Seoidín is still so young, but I'm lucky to have a great support system behind me to help me get back to doing what I love."

Rachel credits her own mother, Caroline Goode, as playing a huge role in helping her balance her career alongside her home life.

"It's not easy to juggle everything with a new baby! I'm an only child, so I'm very close with both of my parents. My own mam is my best friend, and I can go to her for help with absolutely anything. If I can be half the mother she is, I'll be doing an amazing job."

The 32-year-old is now working on her next album, and has released five droplet singles to give fans a taste of what's to come.

Her latest single, titled 'Western Highway', is a country song written by songwriter Gerry O'Beirne.

"The underlying story of the song is about the journey of life," Rachel said. "It's open to interpretation for the listener, but for me, it's about my journey as an artist.

"It's important for me to connect with a song - I really wanted to record 'Western Highway' because I think it has a beautiful sentiment."

Rachel lists singers like Patsy Cline, Eva Cassidy, Maura O'Connell, and Alison Krauss as some of her biggest musical inspirations.

"They are all very soulful singers, and you really connect with them," she said. "I pick my songs very carefully, because I want them to mean something. You can see it in the performance, and it does make a difference in the recording as well."

Rachel is releasing her upcoming album as an independent artist, and the project was fully self-funded.

"I've worked so, so hard to pay for this album. As an artist, you don't really get much of a return on albums, but it's more about doing what you love doing," she said. "I've invested a lot of time and effort into creating something that I hope people will really enjoy."

As for what fans can expect from the album, Rachel said there's "something for everyone".

"We recorded the album completely live, because I wanted that really raw, authentic sound. It's very kind of string folky-based, bluegrassy sound. Some songs have a very traditional Irish vibe, and each song is kind of its own thing.

"I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to record, so I'm really hoping it's an album that people enjoy and really get behind by requesting the songs on the radio and all kind of stuff."

Rachel's album is currently scheduled for release in September of this year, but she said there's a chance it could be coming even sooner.