Clannad: Family, Music and Tradition
Few music bands survive the swings of time, the changes in trends, the fads of the music industry, and the shifts of a fickle audience always hungry for novelty.
But after nearly half a century on the stage, Clannad has not only survived and succeeded in the competitive world music scene, but it has revitalised Irish folk music and established the grounds for an entirely new music style, New Age, all while keeping the cohesion of its original formation, remaining faithful to its native roots.
We invite you to learn more about this remarkable Irish band, its music, its history, and their steady career, which is still going strong after all these years.
Part of Clannad’s enduring success is owed to the family bond shared by all its members. While members of other bands may say they feel ‘like family’, Clannad’s members are actual family.
Clannad’s origins are located in the Gweedore area of County Donegal, Ireland, an area where Irish (Gaelic) is the main language and where Maire, a music teacher, and Leon Brennan, former member of a folk band and owner of "Leo’s Tavern", lived with their 11 children.
Music and Irish traditions were part of the family’s daily lives, and the siblings often performed in family gatherings, taking part in school and local folk music competitions.
At the end of the 1960s, Ciarán O’Braonáin (also spelled Brennan), and siblings Moira (also spelled Mhóira and Moya) Ní Braonáin, Pól O’Braonáin, and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig O’Dúgáin (also spelled Duggan) began performing as a professional group, under the name “Clannad as Dobhair” (The Family from Dore), often playing at "Leo’s Tavern" and other venues, and taking part in folk competitions.
In 1970, they won the first place in the prestigious Letterkenny Folk Festival competition. The first prize was a recording contract with Polydor records. Three years later, in 1973, the fruit of their effort came to light with “Clannad”, their first album.
Video - Clannad: Thios Cois na Tra Dohm (3:10)
True to their roots, this first album compiled traditional Irish folk tunes and songs sung entirely in Gaelic, using traditional instruments punctuated by choral harmonies, balancing a respect for the tradition with a brave input of new sounds, as their first composition, “Liza”, attests.
The album was hailed by critics and the public alike, and became the first in a long line of successful studio productions.
Spurred by the folk movement of the era, Clannad’s music soon crossed the frontiers of their native Ireland. In 1973 they represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest with the sweet Irish ballad “An Phairc” (The Park). Although they did not win, the exposition provided them a wider audience and gave their music instant recognition.
Video - Clannad: An Phairc (The Park) (3:06)
Their first album was later followed by “Clannad 2" (1974), “Dulaman” (1976) and “Crann Ull” (Apple Tree) (1980), all of which continued to explore the sounds of traditional Irish folk music.
Moira’s soulful, sweet, and warm voice possessed a register perfectly suited for folk songs, particularly ballads, and was capable of an impressive range and expressive quality.
Traditional Irish songs such as “Eirigh Suas a Stoirin” (Rise up, My Love), “Thios Cois na tra Domh” (Down by the beach), “An Phairc” (The Park), “Trathnona Beagh Areir”(Late yesterday evening), and many others, found in Clannad not only a performance that rescued the traditional elements of Irish folklore, but also one that updated it to the ears of younger generations, thus helping to revitalise them and keep them current.
For their following album, “Fuaim” (Sound), Clannad was joined by a sixth member, younger sister Enya Brennan. This album also marked the collaboration of Nick Ryan as producer.
Although at the time the band was reluctant to follow in the direction proposed by Ryan, leading to their eventual separation, he would play a fundamental role in shaping Clannad’s musical style, and would later produce a string of successful albums with Enya, most notably her debut album, “Watermark”.
Another important element to Clannad’s strength lies on the successful fusion of musical influences, which combines elements taken from traditional Irish folklore, classical music, jazz, African rhythms, pop beats, rock, and electronica.
While a less gifted band would make a mess of this incongruent mixture of styles, Clannad makes it work, creating harmonious melodies that haunt, move and captivate the listener.
In the mid 1970's electronic music was gaining rapid acceptance among composers, producers and the general public. Musical productions by groups like Pink Floyd, Jean Michel Jarre, Aphrodite’s Child (with Vangelis), Brian Eno, The 10 cc, and The Alan Parson’s Project, incorporated electronic sounds to create aural soundscapes, a style that was later renamed ‘atmospheric music’.
Clannad was not foreign to this musical influence, first incorporating an atmospheric element through a choral background (as in "Eirigh Suas a Stoirin"), then using the electronic organ timidly in “Crann Ull”, and finally replacing some of their acoustic instruments with synthetisers from their sixth album onwards.
The inclusion of synthetisers suited the mystical character of some of the songs in Clannad’s repertoire, and helped to cement their style towards what was later known as ‘New Age’ music, creating atmospheric music of great emotional effect, specially to convey a sense of enchantment, magic and mystery.
Although this change posed a breach with the traditional folk style they had followed until then, it opened new avenues of expression for their music - and opened the door to important commissions.
The first one came in 1982, when Clannad was commissioned to compose the main title for the British TV series “Harry’s Game”.
Sung entirely in Gaelic by Moira’s haunting voice, and backed by strong atmospheric harmonies, “Theme from Harry’s Game” topped the charts both in Ireland and in the UK, was included in their sixth album, “Magical Ring” (1983), and the Irish band U2 used it as closing theme for all their concerts from 1983 to 1987.
The connection with Bono continued in the album “Macalla” (Echo), in which he performed the song “In a Lifetime” along Maire Brennan, allowing Clannad to cross-over to the pop charts.
Clannad’s next big commission came in 1983 to compose the main theme and musical score for a new British TV series by the name of “Robin of Sherwood”.
Legend has it that, as cast members of the show travelled in a car pool, “Harry’s Game” came up on the radio. The group agreed enthusiastically that the music would be perfect for the series (by then still in production), and proposed it to the producers.
The rest, as they say, it’s history.
The soundtrack of “Robin of Sherwood” catapulted Clannad to international fame. Clannad’s blend of traditional folk tunes, atmospheric sounds and modern instrumentation matched perfectly the character of the program, itself a blend of medieval themes with a contemporary take.
The music by Clannad was in big part responsible to capture the spirit of the series, delineate the characters and set the right mood for all the scenes. Songs and instrumental tunes like “Now is here”, “Together We”, “Lady Marian” and “Darkmere” are still engraved in the viewer’s memories, attached indelibly to the show’s most memorable scenes.
Video - Clannad: Robin of Sherwood Theme (2:53)
Following the success of “Legend”, Clannad toured extensively and returned to the studio, bringing out their next production, “Macalla” in 1985.
In 1986, they changed record labels to Atlantic records, who gave them free rein to explore new sounds. The album “Sirius” (1987), proposed a departure from its traditional Celtic roots, experimenting with jazz, pop, rock and African rhythms.
Following this production, Clannad was commissioned to create the instrumental soundtrack for the BBC documentary, “Atlantic Realms” (1989), and the music score for the animated film “The Angel and the Soldier Boy”, released the following year.
In 1990, Clannad returned to the studios and to their Irish roots for their next production, “Anam” (Soul), followed in 1993 by “Banba”(a romantic mythical name for Ireland), which included the love theme from the film “The Last of the Mohicans” (1992).
Moira’s haunting voice lent itself perfectly for the wistful theme, “I will find you”, singing lyrics in English, Cherokee and Mohican.
That same year, “Theme from Harry’s Game” was included in the soundtrack of the Harrison Ford’s film “Patriot Games”.
Aside from these, in 1999 their song “What will I do” was featured in the soundtrack of the Kevin Costner film “Message in a Bottle”. However, this one would prove the last of Clannad’s collaborations with Hollywood.
In 1996, Clannad released their 14th studio album, “Lore”, which made direct references to their Donegal roots and their past and traditions, and included unforgettable tunes such as the ballad “Thráthnona Beagh Áreir”.
Their following album, “Landmarks” (1998), became one of the most celebrated by both the critics and the public, and earned them the Grammy for Best New Age Album, a category they had helped to create and refine over the years.
After a long hiatus in which each of the members pursued different projects, Clannad returned to the studios and released in 2013 their 15th album, “Nádúr”. Following their characteristic style, yet still experimenting with new sounds, the album gives faith of the group’s musical maturity, their ability to remain fresh, and still able to surprise us.
Sadly, Padraig Duggan, died in 2016. Since then, Clannad has remained a quartet, and while still active in the concerts scene, they have not released new albums.
However, their legacy remains. Celtic and New Age music acts like Capercaille, The Corrs, Lorena McKennitt, and Enya owe much of their public and commercial reception to Clannad and the path they paved since the 1970's.
Video - Nádúr: Transatlantic
Whether in Gaelic or English, the aural richness in Clannad’s music is such that one does not need to understand the lyrics in order to grasp the depth of sentiment present in each one of their performances.
Both as a soloist or in duets with Bono, Paul Young, Bruce Hornsby and Steve Perry, Moira’s voice brings an otherworldly quality to each song performed.
Traditional or modern, wistful or mystical, romantic or joyful, songs such as “The Last Rose of Summer”, “Almost Seems (Too Late to Turn)”, “Cáaislean Oir”, “Journey’s End”, “Two Sisters” and “Na Laethe Bhi” carry a distinctive sound that became Clannad’s inimitable hallmark.
From its traditional Irish folk roots to atmospheric moods, from electronic pop to smooth jazz, in songs or instrumentals, Clannad’s exceptional musical quality has withstood the test of time to bring us a touch of timeless magic, a sense of fresh unspoiled nature, reminding us of the beauty of simple things and the joys found in little life comforts, giving us the gift of a perfect music to dream, think, be inspired, celebrate, and remember.
To Learn More...
This site features the lyrics of Clannad’s traditional Irish songs, many of which include their translations from Gaelic to English:
Sources: Clannad’s official page, Wikipedia.
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