Morgana MacIntyre co-founder of Saint Sister – has announced her long-awaited debut album The Whole Thing Was Very Very Emotional, out September 25th 2026, and shared new single ‘Sidekick’.
It’s been a steady, deliberate build since her 2024 debut single ‘I’ll Cry When I’m Dead’, which arrived with an Ardal O’Hanlon-starring video, through ‘Power Cuts’ and 2025 EP Party Killer, the viral ‘I’m Not Going Anywhere’, and most recently the operatic ‘Fix Your Heart For Free’.
‘Sidekick’ began as a tribute to childhood friends making videos together – a portrait of friendship that is ever present in the ups and downs of life.
“Sidekick was written for my closest friends. It’s about the ones who’re there for you when you’re at your lowest, ‘dying on your feet’, and highest, ‘coming up too hard’, and everything in between, ‘making sandwiches'”, Morgana says on the track. It’s about feeling so close to someone that you feel entitled to every part of them. It’s about not being able to communicate your love but feeling it so intensely. It’s also about screaming for any team except for England. It’s for the underdogs and the desperate to be loved.”
Built around synth-pop textures and restless rhythms, the song moves between intimacy and unease without settling anywhere for long – theatrical instinct paired with sharp emotional detail, which has become her signature.
♡ Nialler9 is independent and reader-supported. Support us on Patreon →
2026 has been a good year so far – a national television appearance, a trip to play in an Amazonian opera house in Brazil, and a personal invitation from Snow Patrol to open a run of huge outdoor shows this summer, most recently in Liverpool. Before any of this music existed she had already sold out shows in New York, London and Dublin, supported CMAT across North America and Europe, and opened for Dermot Kennedy.
The Whole Thing Was Very Very Emotional – out September 25th 2026.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
