Clannad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses, see Clannad (disambiguation).
 |
||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Gweedore, County Donegal, Ireland |
|
| Genre(s) | Folk, New age, Celtic | |
| Years active | 1970–present | |
| Website | http://www.clannad.ie | |
| Members | ||
| Máire Ní Bhraonáin Ciarán Brennan Pól Brennan Noel Duggan Pádraig Duggan |
||
| Former members | ||
| Eithne Ní Bhraonáin | ||
Clannad is an Irish musical group, from Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair), County Donegal. Their music has been variously described as being folk music, new age, and Celtic. Clannad are Máire Ní Bhraonáin, Ciarán Brennan, Pól Brennan, Noel Duggan and Pádraig Duggan. Eithne Ní Bhraonáin (Enya Brennan), Máire's sister, used to be a member of the group in the early Eighties. The band won a Grammy Award in 1999 for Best New Age Album, and their record sales exceed the 15 million mark.
Contents |
[edit] Band career
Clannad, whose name is taken from an Clann as Dobhar meaning the family from Dore, was formed by the Brennan family in 1970. Máire, Ciarán and Pól Brennan joined uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan and began performing in their father Leo's tavern. Máire's sister, Enya, joined the band in 1979 and left three years later to pursue a successful solo career [1]. The album "Sirius," recorded in 1987, featured guest artists Bruce Hornsby, Steve Perry and J.D. Souther. Máire has also enjoyed a simultaneous career as a solo singer, starting with her 1992 album entitled Máire, and recently altered the spelling of her name to Moya Brennan.
Theme From Harry's Game, the group's theme song for the television thriller of that name, reached no. 5 in the British Singles Chart in 1982. It remains the only hit single in the UK ever to be sung entirely in Irish Gaelic. Eleven years later it prominently featured in the film Patriot Games, was also used in a commercial for Volkswagen in 1992, and won Clannad newfound popularity in the United States. Another hit was the 1985 song "In a Lifetime" with Bono of U2. Their song, "I Will Find You", is part of the soundtrack for the 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans.
The mega-selling album Lore (1996) also gave some thought to the Native American Indians. On "Trail of Tears", Noel Duggan imagines how it felt to be exiled from one's ancestral land. He was also thinking about these people and their connection with the Irish. How for instance, these distant American cousins had sent money to Ireland during the potato famine of the Nineteenth Century. [citation needed] Lore features American drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and Mel Collins.
The 1999 Grammy, their third nomination, was in recognition for the Landmarks (1998) record, which was once again sited in the heartland of Donegal, shaped by the mountains, the glens and the sea-lashed shores of Gweedore. In "Of This Land" Moya sings about Ireland, of its past and of its future. The track "Fadó" translates as "Long Ago", which once again demonstrates the influence of old Celtic history on Clannad's music.
In 2003, Clannad released the best of album, "In A Lifetime", which is one of their biggest-selling albums to date.
[edit] The Brennans
The Brennans are Ireland's most successful music family. Máire (or Baba) Duggan and Leo Brennan are the parents of the Brennan siblings Máire (or Moya), Leon, Ciarán, Deirdre, Pól, Olive, Eithne (or Enya), Bartley, and Brídín. Baba was the local school's music teacher and Leo led the celebrated Slieve Foy show band. The catalyst that would propel the entire family onto the stage was the opening of Leo's Tavern in 1968 in Meenaleck, Co. Donegal. This pub has become a musical Mecca over the years, and Bono and Paul Brady have even been known to join in the regular jamming sessions.
The first members of the family to publish their music were Ciarán, Pól and Máire (now known as Moya), who in 1972 released Clannad's first album. Their Irish folk sound captivated audiences, and it was to be the beginning of a long prosperous career, one that continues to grow. Over the years they have sold millions of records, they sang for the Pope, and their first famous song "Theme From Harry's Game", was the first, and so far only, Irish Gaelic song ever heard on Top Of The Pops.
The other six children can all sing and play one or more instruments - Olive and Deirdre have sung on Moya's solo albums and Brídín, who for years toured with Clannad as a backing vocalist, has released a solo record, "Eyes of Innocence".
Máire Duggan is currently the lead member of the local Catholic choir, Cór Mhuire Doire Beaga, but no longer continues to teach in the local community school Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair. The choir has gained national acclaim, and is frequently joined by Leo Brennan and the Brennan siblings.
Leo helps his son Bartley to run the family pub, Leo's Tavern, and still takes to the stage equipped with his accordion and mic.
[edit] Private Lives
The private life of lead member Moya was detailed in her biography in 2000. She confessed that the lowest point of her life was the day she had an abortion. At the peak of Clannad's success, Moya dabbled in drink and drugs, which led to the failure of her first marriage. She did a lot of cocaine, allegedly due to the pressures of the Rock n' Roll industry in the eighties. But now in 2006, Moya has claimed to have found God (with her music being featured on Contemporary Christian music compilations), and is happily married to her second husband Tim, with two children.
[edit] Discography
- 1973 — The Pretty Maid (Clannad) debut
- 1975 — Clannad 2
- 1976 — Dúlamán
- 1978 — Clannad in Concert [live]
- 1979 — Ring Of Gold [live, unofficial bootleg]
- 1980 — Crann Ull
- 1982 — Fuaim
- 1983 — Magical Ring (with Theme from Harry's Game)
- 1984 — Legend [soundtrack]
- 1985 — Macalla (with Bono duet In A Lifetime)
- 1987 — Sirius
- 1988 — Atlantic Realm [soundtrack]
- 1989 — Past Present [collection]
- 1989 — The Angel & the Soldier Boy [soundtrack]
- 1990 — Anam (US: 1992)
- 1993 — Banba (with The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack theme)
- 1996 — Lore
- 1997 — Landmarks
- 1998 — An Diolaim [collection of early recordings for Irish Gael-Linn label]
- 2005 — Clannad - Live In Concert, 1996 [live]
