Moya Brennan: Irish music legend and lead singer of Clannad has died, aged 73

Moya Brennan, recognised internationally as the 'First Lady of Celtic Music', has died, aged 73.

The renowned singer, songwriter and harpist passed away peacefully in Donegal yesterday, April 13, surrounded by her family.

Raised in Gaoth Dobhair in Co. Donegal, Moya (born Máire) first began performing alongside her family in her father's pub, Leo's Tavern – playing both traditional songs and contemporary tracks by the likes of Joni Mitchell and The Beatles.

By the early '70s, she and her siblings Pól and Ciarán, as well as their uncles Pádraig and Noel Duggan, had come together as Clannad (a shortened version of 'Clann As Dobhair') – a band that would go on to play a crucial role in bringing Irish music to a global audience over the decades that followed.

Over the course of a remarkable 50-year recording career, Clannad – which at one point in the early '80s also included Moya's sister Eithne (Enya) in its line-up – enjoyed considerable chart success on these shores and beyond, in addition to millions of streams.

They also won a Grammy Award for Best New Age Album (1998's Landmarks), a BAFTA for Best Original Television Music (1984's Robin of Sherwood soundtrack), and an Ivor Novello Award (1982's 'Theme from Harry's Game').

Moya (then known as Máire Brennan) launched her solo career with the release of her debut album, Máire, in 1992. A successful run of solo projects followed, with the singer beginning to use the name Moya Brennan in 2003, around the release of her Grammy-nominated fifth solo album, Two Horizons. Over the years she has also collaborated with her children, Aisling and Paul.

Moya won a New York Emmy Award in 2011, for her work on the documentary Music of Ireland: Welcome Home.

Her contributions to Irish music have also been recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards in 2019, and an honorary doctorate from Dublin City University in 2022.

In February 2026, she and Clannad made a special appearance at Hot Press's 'History In The Making: The Concert' at Dublin's 3Arena, where they opened the show with 'Theme from Harry's Game'. She is also set to feature on the upcoming Shane MacGowan tribute album, 20th Century Paddy - The Songs of Shane MacGowan, out November 13.

Moya had spoken publicly about being diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in her later years.

She is survived by her husband, Tim Jarvis, daughter, Aisling, and son, Paul.

Revisit her 2020 performance of 'Beauty of the Days', for Hot Press's Rave On Van Morrison series, below: