Irish folk singer Moya Brennan dead at 73
Moya Brennan, the Irish singer who fronted the band Clannad, has died aged 73.
Known as the First Lady of Celtic Music, Brennan was acclaimed as part of her family band which went on to bring Irish traditional music to the global mainstream.
According to RTÉ, she died peacefully on April 13th surrounded by her family, although no cause of death has been publicly revealed at this time. Brennan did, however, announce in 2020 that she was suffering from the lung condition pulmonary fibrosis.
The singer rose to fame in the 1970s alongside her family in Clannad, who were most famous for performing the theme tune to the 1982 ITV drama Harry’s Game, which was set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. The track subsequently scored the band a number five hit in the UK.
Clannad also featured Brennan’s younger sister Enya, who went on to be a global sensation when she left the band in 1982 to pursue her own solo career.
Further down the line, Clannad were the recipient of a Bafta in 1984 for ‘Best Television Music’ for ITV’s Robin of Sherwood, and also won ‘Best New Age Album’ at the Grammys for their 1999 record Landmarks.
Although Brennan remained a consistent member of the group until 2024, she also went on to have a successful solo career in her own right, releasing her album Máire to critical acclaim in 1992.
Selling more than 20 million records throughout her lifetime, Brennan and Clannad as a whole were attributed with bringing Irish music to a rock and roll mainstream audience, having worked with artists such as Mick Jagger, Paul Young, and Bono.
The latter once credited Brennan’s voice as “one of the greatest the human ear has ever experienced”.
Paying tribute, Irish singer Daniel O’Donnell, who also hailed from Donegal like Brennan, said she “never forgot her roots”.
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