Moya Brennan, Clannad star, face of Irish folk music, dies aged 73

The face of Irish folk music, Moya Brennan, Clannad star has died at age 73.

Brennan was widely recognized as the voice of Celtic Ireland.

The singer, harpist and songwriter passed away in Donegal surrounded by her loved ones.

Moya Brennan, who was the face of Irish music, best known as part of the Irish family band, which emerged in the 1970s and later won a Bafta and a Grammy for their folk albums.

She was born in West Donegal as Maire Philomena on August 5, 1952, the eldest of nine children in the famous O’Braonain family.

Moya Brennan rose to fame when she started performing with her family in Clannad.

Moya and her siblings, Pol and Ciaran, along with their twin uncles Noel and Padraig O Dugain, started singing regularly at the family’s pub in Min na Leice.

The band went by the name Clan as Dobhar (Family from Dore) but shortened their name to Clannad in 1973.

Their big breakthrough arrived in 1982, when their theme buzzing song for the TV series Harry’s Game became a worldwide sensation.

For context, it was the first Irish-language track to reach the UK charts, which they performed on Top of the Pops.

The song won an Ivor Novello Award, with a Grammy and a Billboard Music Award later coming its way.

Clannad didn’t stop there, they again crashed the charts with another number one duet with Bono, Once In a Lifetime.

The band would go on to release 25 albums and sell 20 million records globally.

She is survived by her husband, Tim Jarvis, and their two children, Aisling and Paul.