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Clannad is musical group who hail from County Donegal, Ireland. Clannad (pronounced CLAN-ehd) was orignally named 'an clann as Dobhar' meaning 'family from Dore.' They later shortened it to 'Clannad.' Clannad is currently made up of Maire Brennan (pronounced MOYA), Ciaran Brennan (prounounced KEERON), Noel and Padraig Duggan (pronounced PORIC). Ciaran and Maire are brother and sister. Noel and Padraig are their twin uncles. Maire's brother and sister, Pol (pronounced Paul) and Eithne (pronounced AN-ya) Brennan where also members in the band at one time. Eithne is also known as Enya, the celtic new age songstress who has sold millions of albums and has gained international success. Pol left Clannad in 1989 to pursue his solo career. Enya recorded with Clannad on two albums Crann Ull and Fuaim, both early 80s releases.

The Brennans and Duggans were born and raised in the village of Gweedore in County Donegal, Ireland. There they learned the traditional Irish songs that they would turn into international hits. Due to its geographic proximity to Northern Ireland, the conflict between the two Irelands has taken a heavy toll in County Donegal. Both the rugged beauty of the land, and the harsh political climate, have helped to shape the music of Clannad into brillant harmonies which are at the same time breathtaking and magical.

Clannad's musical family tree extend back many years. In the 1950s, Leo Brennan (father of Maire, Ciaran, Pol, and Eithne) formed a show band, playing popular tunes on saxophone, clarinet, and highland reels on the accordian. His wife is a music teacher who plays organ and harmonium, while her parents were village teachers steeped in old and ancient Irish traditions.

When Leo saw that his band's days were nubmered, he acquired an old tavern in the area. He still entertains today. "The house was always open to music," states Maire. "What this meant to us was a small stage to perform on." The band's beginnings came when Maire (on vocals and Irish harp), Ciaran (on double bass and vocals), Pol (on tin whistles, flute ,and vocals), Noel (on guitar), and Padraig (on mandolin and harmonica) would come up on stage to join Leo in a song. Soon the quintet was performing on its own. A typical set would range from the Beatles to a traditional song, from Donovan to a Joni Mitchell song in Gaelic.

Clannad had two big breaks. The first came in 1970. As the Fuaim insert states: .............Clannad won first prize in the prestigious Letterkenny Folk Festival, which included the opportunity to record an album. "We went into the festival for a bit of fun," recalls Ciaran, "and to our surprise, we won."

Thus, Clannad recorded their first album, called simply 'Clannad' and decided to go inot the music business professionally.

Clannad's secoond big break occurred in 1982 when they were asked to create the theme to 'Harry's Game', a three part television thriller about Northern Ireland. From the insert: ..... .............The song, which was sung in Gaelic, reached the top five of the Biritsh charts that November. 'Harry's Game' was also nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award, and they received the Ivor Novello award, England's equivalent of the Grammy.

The resulting album was called 'Magical Ring' which was a on the UK music charts for over six months earning the group their first gold record award. 'Harry's Game' hit the top five on the British Singles Chart, a feat more amazing when considering that the song is entirely in Irish Gaelic, not English. This would be the first of many television and movie contracts which would propel the band to the top of Irish Music awareness, and notoreity across the world.