Moya Brennan, the lead singer of Irish folk group Clannad, has died aged 73. The Grammy and Emmy-winning 'first lady of Celtic music' had been living with pulmonary fibrosis and faced the possibility of a double lung transplant. A statement from her family said she died peacefully in the company of loved ones in her native County Donegal.
Forming in 1970, Clannad was credited with the contemporisation of Celtic music. Brennan drew praise from artists including Bono of U2, with whom she would later duet, and appeared on the soundtracks to major films including Titanic and King Arthur. Born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952 in Dublin, she was the eldest of nine children in a musical family. She pursued her musical education at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin.
Clannad was formed by Brennan, her brothers Pól and Ciarán, and their mother's twin brothers, Noel and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin. They made their live debut at the Slógadh Youth Festival in 1970 and won the festival's prize, which included a record contract with Polydor that the band members were too young to sign. Clannad made their name on their defiant embrace of the Irish language. Their commercial breakout came in 1983 with the album Magical Ring and its hit single Theme from Harry's Game, which reached No 5 in the UK Top 40 and made them the first act to perform in Irish on Top of the Pops.
In her later years, Brennan was open about the toll that travelling to England for an abortion in 1972 had taken on her. She started using alcohol, cannabis and cocaine, and had an 18-month marriage to Pat Farrell. In 1987, she experienced a miscarriage and found God. She later married British photographer Tim Jarvis in 1990, an event that she said curtailed her drug use for good. Brennan released an acclaimed solo album, Máire, in 1992, and continued her solo career until 2024. She also became known for her philanthropy, working with Christian Blind Mission Ireland in countries including the DRC, Rwanda, Brazil and Tanzania.
Brennan is survived by Jarvis and their two children. In 2022, she credited her Christian faith with helping her endure, including performing through her lung condition. 'I know God is with me, it's when we are doing things by ourselves, that's when we feel the stress,' she said.
