Moya Brennan, singer and harpist for the new age Celtic folk group Clannad, has passed away. A social media statement from Brennan's family says that she died at home in Donegal on Monday night, surrounded by family. According to The Guardian, Brennan had been living with pulmonary fibrosis in recent years. She was 73.
Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin, the daughter of a musician and a music teacher, was born in Dublin, but she grew up in the Donegal parish of Gweedore. Brennan, as she came to be known, studied at Dublin's Royal Irish Academy Of Music. She had eight younger siblings. In 1970, when Brennan was still a teenager, she formed Clannad with her brothers Pól and Ciarán and her uncles Noel and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin. A few years later, they signed with Philips Records after winning first prize in a folk festival.
Clannad released their self-titled debut in 1973, and they continued to put out music through the '70s, mostly sticking with traditional Irish-language folk. Brennan's younger sister Eithne, now known as Enya, joined Clannad in 1980, and she left two years later to start a hugely successful solo career. That same year, Clannad released "Theme From Harry's Game," their contribution to a TV series about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The spacey, ethereal song was a top-five hit in both Ireland and the UK. Soon after that, they transitioned to singing lyrics in English.
In 1984, Clannad won a BAFTA for soundtracking the TV series Robin Of Sherwood. They had another hit with "In A Lifetime," a 1986 duet between Brennan and Bono. Their 1990 album Anam went gold in the US, thanks in part to a Volkswagen ad that featured "Theme from Harry's Game" earning more exposure for the group. Their 1992 album Banba also went gold, and it featured "I Will Find You," the group's incandescent theme for Michael Mann's The Last Of The Mohicans. They won the Grammy for Best New Age Album for 1998's Landmarks. Their lush take on Irish folk was big in the '90s.
Moya Brennan began a solo career with her 1992 album Máire. She released a great many solo records, and she contributed to soundtracks fof films like Titanic and King Arthur. She also did a lot of philanthropic work, much of it centered around her recovery from addiction and alcoholism. Clannad played their final show at London's Royal Albert Hall in 2024. Check out some of their work below.
