Mary-Kate Geraghty—known as MayKay—is an Irish musician known as the frontwoman of Fight Like Apes, with whom she has released numerous records and received several award nominations. She has also given solo performances as a DJ. In addition to this, herself and

Duke Special Duke Special (born Peter Wilson; 4 January 1971) is a songwriter and performer based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. A piano-based songwriter with a romantic style and a warm, distinctly accented voice, he was previously known for his distinctiv ...

lent their voices to an event at the

National Concert Hall The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...

on 1 July 2010. Nadine O'Regan of ''

The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

'' has described her as "easily one of the best – and most mesmerising – front women Ireland has delivered in recent times" and possessing "an air of unpredictability that means crowds will crane their necks to make sure they see as well as hear her".

Today FM Today FM is an Irish national commercial FM radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Audio Ireland Limited. Broadcasting since 17 March 1997, it broadcasts mostly music, with a daily news and current affairs programme. Today FM holds a lic ...

presenter

Alison Curtis Alison "Ally" Curtis (born 1 November 1977 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada) is a presenter of radio on Irish radio station Today FM She currently presents her own show, "Saturday Breakfast with Alison Curtis" on Today FM which airs every Saturday f ...

has described her as "extremely watchable, almost going into

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

territory". Lauren Murphy of

entertainment.ie ''Entertainment.ie'' is an Irish web company based in Dublin. The company provides news and reviews of programs and films for TV and the cinema. It also provides information on upcoming comedy, comedies, festivals, theater shows and music in Ir ...

praised her ability to sing "pastoral as well as blow-your-eardrums-out cacophony" on the track "Snore Bore Whore". ''

The Munster Express ''The Munster Express'' newspaper was established in 1860 in the South Eastern Irish city of Waterford. The newspaper covers stories from Waterford city and County Waterford. It retails at €2.00. ''The Munster Express''s office is located on ...

'' described MayKay as being at her "breathy vampish best" on the same track. Male fans have professed simultaneous feelings of terror and attraction online. A native of

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

, MayKay was born in 1986. She is the daughter of journalist

Kathy Sheridan Kathy Sheridan is a journalist with ''The Irish Times''. She won the title of features writer at the National Newspapers of Ireland's Journalism Awards for 2011. Her father Joe Sheridan was an independent Independent or Independents may refer t ...

. Sheridan is a regular Fight Like Apes concert-goer and bought a record player specially to listen to the band's debut album on vinyl. She was a choir singer for some time. The singer met bandmate Jamie (known as "Pockets") when the pair were vacationing in Spain during their teenage years. She spoke of their meeting in a 2007 interview with Eamon Sweeney of the ''

Irish Independent The ''Irish Independent'' is an Irish daily newspaper and online publication which is owned by Independent News & Media (INM), a subsidiary of Mediahuis. The newspaper version often includes glossy magazines. Traditionally a broadsheet new ...

'': "One night, I told Jamie I loved singing, so he made me sign a contract on a piece of tissue in a bar saying that I would never do anything musically without him". She studied

medicinal chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with designing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and developm ...

then philosophy in

Trinity College, Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

; however, she dropped out of college when Fight Like Apes began to first find success. On stage MayKay dresses in either black or white and is known for her "long black hair and

banshee A banshee ( ; Modern Irish , from sga, ben síde , "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by screaming, wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is c ...

wail". She often plays the keyboard with her head during live performances. She has also played the drill. She and most of the band members, with the exception of the drummer, are known for their consumption of alcohol. She likes bands such as

Adebisi Shank Adebisi Shank were a three-piece instrumental rock trio from Wexford, Ireland consisting of guitarist Lar Kaye, bass guitarist Vincent McCreith and drummer Michael Roe. The band was signed to Richter Collective in Ireland, before the record lab ...

, Giveamanakick, Grand Pocket Orchestra and

Jape Jape is a synonym for a practical joke. Jape or JAPE may also refer to: * Jape (band), an Irish electronic/rock band * JAPE (linguistics), a transformation language widely used in natural language processing * JAPE, an automated pun generator * J ...

. MayKay has also collaborated with Elaine Mai on 'No Forever' (2021).

References

External links

MayKay speaks
to Elaine Hughes of ''

Hot Press ''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. History ''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...

'' about her 2007
Video interview
with

Jenny Huston Jenny Huston (born 24 August 1973) is a Canadian presenter of radio and television in Ireland. She was disc jockey on RTÉ 2fm, an occasional presenter on RTÉ Radio 1 and a television presenter with channels operated by Raidió Teilifís Éir ...

from

RTÉ 2fm (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

Oxegen 2008 Oxegen '08 was the fifth Oxegen festival to take place, following the dissolution of its predecessor Witnness in 2004. It took place on the weekend of Friday 11 July, Saturday 12 July and Sunday 13 July at Punchestown Racecourse near Naas in Cou ...

.
Photos of MayKay
from the website of

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

show ''The JD Set'' {{Authority control Irish rock musicians Irish rock singers 1986 births Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Musicians from County Kildare 21st-century Irish singers 21st-century Irish women singers Irish women singers Other Voices presenters