I started playing guitar when I was about 13 years old. Strumming away on my brother Dermot’s beautiful Suzuki folk guitar, I soon mastered every song on the Eagle’s seminal ‘Desperado’ album. My influences were Bob Dylan, Jackson Brown, The Eagles, Van Morrison and lots of heavy rockers from my youth such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rory Gallagher, Taste, Led Zeppelin and Bruce Springsteen.
These country roots took over when I was learning the craft of song-writing. Those country writers do it so much better. They say, if you write country lyrics and follow those rules, you can put that lyric to any genre of music. So I decided to learn lyric writing using the Nashville rules and building blocks and that led me to where I am today!.
I always try to finish any lyric I start. That way, I have a completed idea with hook, a start, middle a resolution, a chorus and if required, a bridge. If I’m asked if I have a song on a particular topic, by this stage, I’ve probably written on that topic, I can revisit it and see how it can be updated, amended or sometimes even started again! My Lyric count is well over 1200 completed lyrics with hundreds more lyrical ideas ready to be realized. 
West Coast Songwriters in California has been a brilliantly supportive organization for me. They’re enthusiastic and creative about the craft and industry of the songwriting business. They will nurture a songwriter and guide him or her in the direction their music is taking them. In my case, after I sent some of my songs to their Executive Director for review, he suggested I forward them to a few of their country music associates in Nashville for their input. They will have an industry associate for your genre too so you really should reach out to them!
In 2011, I started working with a supremely talented Dublin based vocalist, songwriter and composer, Alicija Bar and since then we have collaborated on over 100 songs. Working with Alicija has opened a door into new and exciting genres and markets including Lithuania, Poland and Russia. In 2015, we formed “Maija Music”, a marketing vehicle to promote our body of work as musicians, writers and composers. Since then, we broadened our scope to include electronica, children’s songs, and songs for musicals.
I have collaborated with numerous other writers in Europe and the USA. I have worked with lots of Irish writers, two Swiss writers, a Canadian, three Americans and a Russian! I have also written tracks for a independent movies such as:
I have made submissions to a number of TV series and documentaries and had opportunities to write for a number of charities and movements.
Along with Denis Loiseau, I co-wrote a track for a Californian charity called CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) which is used in a Fifty state, U.S. coast to coast awareness campaign. We are currently working on two more tracks for this charity to further publicize their humanitarian work.
Maur Byrne 