LAST UPDATE | 14 Apr

Is féidir ómós as Gaeilge atá scríte ag ár bhfoireann Gaeltachta a léamh anseo.

IRELAND’S LEADING MUSICAL voices have been queuing up to pay tribute to Clannad singer and founding member Moya Brennan, who has died aged 73. 

Her sister, Enya, today said it is with “a deep and terrible sadness that I must announce the death of my beloved sister, Máire”.

“Not only was she my sister, she was a dear and close friend.

Moya’s Funeral Mass will take place on Friday, 17 of April at 2pm in St Patrick’s Church, Meenaweal, Crolly, with interment afterwards in Magheragallon Cemetery Gweedore.

From 1980 to 1982, Clannad operated as a six-piece with Enya, before she left the group to pursue a successful solo career.

Meanwhile, U2 frontman Bono has said the Donegal singer “sang like an angel,” adding:

“She walked through this world like an angel, and now she’s back with her own kind.”

Imelda May called her “a beautiful soul” with the “warmest heart”, while singer-songwriter Paul Brady said she had a “voice from heaven” that people felt compelled to listen to.

Daniel O’Donnell said that, along with Clannad, she had “brought the music of our area onto the international stage”.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, meanwhile, said that Moya was an “iconic Irish voice” – and President Catherine Connolly said she left “an exceptional legacy of music which will be enjoyed for generations to come”.

A statement from Moya’s family said that she died peacefully last night, surrounded by her loved family. 

Clannad was formed in the early 1970s by Moya, her siblings Ciarán and Pól and her twin uncles Noel and Pádraig.

Noel died in 2022, while his twin Pádraig died in 2016.

Clannad started out performing in the family pub, Leo’s Tavern, and their breakthrough came in 1982 when their theme song for the TV mini-series, Harry’s Game, became an international hit.

The band went on to win numerous awards, including an Ivor Novello, BAFTA, and a Grammy and scored eight UK top 10 albums.

Clannad also became the first act to perform in the Irish language on BBC’s ‘Top of the Pops’.

Clannad completed their 50th anniversary tour in October 2024, with a final show in London’s Royal Albert Hall. 

Moya also went on to have a successful solo career, releasing her debut solo album, Máire, in 1992.

Across her career, Moya worked with The Chieftains and the late Shane MacGowan and scored another international hit with the Clannad-Bono collaboration In a Lifetime. The song remains the U2 singer’s biggest success away from his own band.

In May 2022, Moya was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate from Dublin City University and in 2024, she was awarded Donegal Person of the Year and was also conferred with the Freedom of Donegal.

The statement from her family noted, however, that Moya’s “proudest endeavour has been her musical night, Clubeo, an open stage for local musicians in her family pub Leo’s Tavern.”