by Eric FitzGerald
[email protected]
The haunting vocal melodies of Gweedore’s Clannad have been part of the musical landscape since 1970. The family group reached a worldwide audience with the release of ‘Theme from Harry’s Game’, music for ’80s TV drama ‘Robin of Sherwood’ and ‘In a Lifetime’ a duet with U2’s Bono. Clannad are celebrating over 40 years in music with an extensive UK and Ireland tour.
The family from Gweedore (Clann as Dobhar in Irish) became Clannad in the early 1970s and attained international success in the 1980s.
As kids playing in pub sessions in their native Gweedore, Clannad sang traditional Irish songs. They grew up in a musical family, Moya’s father was the leader of a local showband and gaining acceptance from traditional music purists proved problematic for the family group.
Moya remembers, “When we started to sing gaelic songs, it was not soaked in traditional music because I am not a traditional singer. We had a lot of the songs but we were also listening to the Beach Boys and The Mamas and Papas and we loved their harmonies. In the 1970s people who played traditional songs didn’t consider Clannad to be traditional. When we sang harmony we were shunned. It was not seen as a thing to do.”
But Clannad were determined and continued to develop their earthy sound from their base in rural Gweedore, with the Donegal mountains and the Atlantic ocean as their inspiration.
“We had a terrible time in the 1970s, doing what we did. We could not get a gig in Ireland.
We were too quiet for the ballad scene and Trad purists thought we were killing Irish songs. So that is why we went off to tour in Europe. We spent all our time in Europe and that is what helped us survive really.”
Clannad would record six albums mixing traditional and folk music, singing mainly in Irish and introduced younger sister Eithne Ní Bhraonáin (later known as Enya) on the album Crann Úll. Now more popular across Europe, Clannad signed to RCA Records in 1982 and recorded ‘Harry’s Game’ for a British TV series.
Moya picks up the story, “It wasn’t until ‘Harry’s Game’ that people took notice of us in Ireland. It was the first gaelic song ever to be sung on Top of the Pops.”
In 2013, after taking a ten year break, Clannad recorded their first studio album ‘Nádúr’, since their 1998’s Grammy winning Landmarks.
In 2014, Clannad were recipients of BBC Radio 2’s 2014 Lifetime Achievement Awards and were also nominated in the Songlines Music Awards 2014 for Best Group with their album Nádúr.
Though a “family band” can never really break-up, it was Clannad’s concert at Christ Church Cathedral for TempleBar TradFest in Dublin in 2011 that inspired the group to return to the studio.
“It was supposed to be one gig but the tickets went so fast that we ended up doing three. People flew in from all over the world so we thought we should have another bash at this.
“It is very encouraging that people still want to come and hear you.”
It has been a career that has seen the group release 18 albums and the upcoming performance will incorporate their best moments from the last 40 years as well as tracks from their excellent current record, ‘Nadúr’.
Clannad are far from being outsiders in their native Ireland today, where mixing traditional music and song with international influences from Americana to Jazz is common on contemporary musical landscape by groups like The Gloaming or The Olllam.
Speaking about Clannad’s influence on Irish culture worldwide, the Irish Ambassador for the UK, Daniel Mulhall said, “Clannad were really the first group who actually embraced our gaelic traditions, the Donegal Gaeltacht [Irish language], and turned those into part of the cultural heritage of the world.”
Clannad, with support from The Henry Girls, perform at University Concert Hall this Wednesday October 29.
Win tickets for Clannad at UCH
To enter answer the following question.
Name Clannad’s lead singer?
Answers on a postcard to Entertainments Competitions, Limerick Post, 97 Henry St. Limerick OR email [email protected]. Put ‘Clannad’ in the subject line. Get your entries in by Sunday Oct 26. Include your name, address and telephone number.
Terms & Conditions apply. Good Luck.
