Moya Brennan: Clannad singer and harpist dies aged 73
The harpist of Grammy award-winning Irish folk band, Clannad, has died at the age of 73.
Singer, songwriter and harpist, Moya Brennan, has died aged 73. The musician rose to fame in the Irish folk band Clannad.
The Grammy award-winning Celtic fusion pioneers, made up of siblings Ciaran, Pol and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Padraig Duggan, achieved huge international success over their 40-year career.
The band’s distinctive and haunting sound has sold more than 10 million albums worldwide and Moya later also enjoyed a solo career.
Forming in the early 1970s, Clannad plied their trade with regular performances at the family’s music pub, Leo’s Tavern, in Gweedore, Co Donegal. However, their unique take on traditional Irish songs, coupled with influences from The Beatles to the Beach Boys, went on to win them a folk festival competition and a record deal which would eventually seem them in the spotlight.
Their breakthrough hit Harry’s Game, which was the theme track to the TV series of the same name, came in 1982. Worldwide acclaim and a global touring schedule followed, with a string of albums and well-known hits including In A Lifetime, with Bono.
Clannad reformed in 2011, with three comeback performances at Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral, before recording a new album and touring Europe. They picked up a lifetime achievement award at BBC Radio 2’s Folk Awards in 2014.
Another of the Brennan siblings, Enya, left the group in 1981 to embark on a hugely successful solo career.