Sadly, though it is only two weeks since my last post in tribute to someone who had passed away, it is time for another. The news came through on Tuesday that Moya Brennan, probably best known as the lead singer of Clannad, had passed that morning at the age of 73. Just a year older than me – that rather brings home for me the brevity of our time on this earth.

Clannad were an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal, by siblings Ciarán, Pól and Máire (Moya) Ní Bhraonáin (in English, Brennan) and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin (Duggan). They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history: having begun as an acoustic folk group mainly performing rearranged traditional Irish songs in Irish, they expanded their sound with original songs in English, vocal harmonies, electronic keyboards, and elements of rock, Celtic, new age, smooth jazz, and Gregorian chant. Quite a varied mix, which is probably why I was attracted to them. From 1980 to 1982 they were a six member band, having added one of Moya’s younger sisters, Eithne, who then left for her own solo career: you may know her as Enya. Moya was the eldest of nine children – five girls and four boys, and they were a musical family: her mother Máire (née Ní Dhúgáin or Duggan in English) was a music teacher and her father, Leo Brennan, was a member of a cabaret band with whom Moya performed as a child. Leo ran a pub – Leo’s Tavern – which was well known as a venue for live music, and the children grew up performing there before the band was formed: the twin uncles were only three years older than Moya, so were a natural fit for the family band.

They had released five albums and four singles , with almost zero chart success, before their breakthrough. In October 1982 they released a single of the song they had written as the theme music for a Yorkshire TV production of Harry’s Game, and it became a surprise hit, reaching #2 in Ireland and #5 in the UK. Those here may remember this:

The haunting beauty of the song became very much the band’s trademark, and those who know my taste for Irish music will see why I loved this from the moment I first heard it. The TV series was based on a 1975 novel by Gerald Seymour, a journalist who had reported extensively on ‘The Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. Some of the images in the video are taken from the TV show: it wasn’t an easy watch, but it was an important one. The show’s producers had originally wanted to use another Clannad song but the band persuaded them to go with this one, and wrote lyrics especially for it  in Irish Gaelic. I think its success proved that to be a good decision, and it remains to this day the only song sung entirely in Irish Gaelic to have been a UK chart hit.

The band also had some success with other commissions for music to accompany film and TV productions, among them Robin Of Sherwood, the theme tune for which gave them a minor UK hit single. From 1983 to 1987 U2 played Clannad’s recording at the end of their own shows, and this gave rise to a collaboration for a track on Clannad’s 1985 album, Macalla, which featured a duet between Moya and Bono, In A Lifetime, and which also became a hit single (#5 in Ireland, #20 in the UK). I thought I’d play that one for you, as it is rather good:

Another collaboration was also included on their album, Sirius, which was released in October 1987 and peaked at #34 in the UK. This one was with a favourite of mine, Bruce Hornsby, and Something To Believe In was also released as a single, stumbling up to #117 in the UK. It is another nice song, which I wanted to include for you, though this official video is a little on the quiet side:

I’m closing the Clannad section of this piece with a song the band recorded in 2020 for a compilation album, a ‘best of’ collection which was also called In A Lifetime. This song really gets to the heart of what their music is about, and it is beautiful:

A Celtic Dream is inimitably Clannad, with a lyric referring to the myths and legends of living 10,000 years ago, and a chorus recalling the band’s early days in Donegal. I have that album in my Apple Music library, and it is a real treat. Unfortunately for the band that record was released just as the Covid pandemic was beginning, and they had to cancel the big tour they had planned to promote it, which might go some way to explaining why it only reached #64 in Ireland and #74 in the UK.

My final selection for today is, I think, a perfect way to sum up Moya’s career. In addition to her recordings with Clannad she made fourteen solo albums, several of which were in collaboration with other musicians. She made five of those albums with Cormac de Barra, a harpist and also a member of her band. One of them was Timeless, which was released in August 2019 and included a cover of one of the most beautiful songs I know. It was written by Christine McVie and often featured her playing it solo at the end of Fleetwood Mac concerts. Moya really does it justice, and it feels a fitting way to end my tribute to her:

That was, of course, Songbird, which is a very good word to describe Moya.

If you want to know more about her, whether that be her music, her family history and her philanthropic work, her Wikipedia page gives a lot of information – far more than I could include here! And for good measure, here is Clannad’s page.

Moya’s beautiful voice and music have given me so much pleasure over the years, and I’m sad at her passing. As I always say at this point, she has left us a beautiful legacy by which to remember her.

R.I.P. Moya 💔