"There are some really good bands in Ireland, but there isn't a very good scene. All the record companies are in England so it's easier to get signed over here. They've got great bands back home but the facilities just aren't there. Most of them come here to play when they're searching for a deal."
With his wafer-thin frame and shocking red hair, Declan is a striking vision on stage. His powerful voice and charismatic presence sit well with the haunting guitar lines and grinding rhythms. They are a band that stop you in your tracks. They force you to listen, and their dazzling confidence bodes well for their convincing place as Faces of 1999.
Their support slots with Swervedriver and One Minute Silence were extraordinary, yet the sudden tidal wave of acclaim is not quite as unexpected as we'd assumed.
"It's been a long time coming. We've been playing for three and a half years in order to get this, and now it's all paying off. We had to play for free. We played all over the place. It wasn't that difficult to get gigs 'cos we didn't get paid."
So, how easy will it be for the band when they inevitably have to move to London?
"We won't. We still live in Cork. We just come back now and again. It's only a stone's throw away. We'll stay in London for a few weeks. We'll continue to live in Cork - for writing it's much better. We live in a really secluded place. When you're living in a city it's much more difficult to find inspiration."
How do you reckon you'll cope with the pressures of all this attention?
"It's not sudden. We've put a lot of groundwork in and over the last year we've started to see the results. We're going to spend the next year promoting the album we've just recorded. Then we're going to start work on the next."
Any special requests?
"I'd love to support Garbage or Marilyn
Manson. Or Smashing Pumpkins, that would be good. Or a big
festival. Or Elvis!"