Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Moya Brennan (Máire Ní Bhraonáin) talks about life on the road, growing up with music and sings about a mermaid.
Appearing on The Late Late Show to promote Clannad's ninth studio album 'Anam', Máire Ní Bhraonáin says a career in the music business is far from glamorous.
There were challenges during the early years on the road, especially when home comforts were a luxury and she was the person with sole responsibility for the band's finances. On the plus side, she credits her brothers and uncles with passing on a love of sport to her. Now, accommodation while touring with Clannad is something she can enjoy.
I’m well looked after.
'Anam’ was written and recorded in five months, in time for Máire Ní Bhraonáin wedding to British photographer Tim Jarvis in June of this year.
In 1985 Clannad collaborated with Bono on the song 'In A Lifetime’ which features on the album ‘Macalla’. The single was an international success, and the band were very pleased with the whole process, having long been admirers of U2,
We wanted it to be a great record.
Music was a constant presence at home when growing up. Máire Ní Bhraonáin and her eight siblings were raised with traditional music, poetry and song from her mother’s family. Contemporary music came from her father Leo, who was bandleader in the Slieve Foy Showband,
You were hearing both ends, and you grew up with that.
Máire Ní Bhraonáin sings a traditional song called ‘An Maighdean Mhara’ about a mermaid who returns to the sea, having left her human husband and children behind.
This episode of 'The Late Late Show' was broadcast on 19 October 1990. The presenter is Gay Byrne.
Moya Brennan (Máire Ní Bhraonáin) talks about life on the road, growing up with music and sings about a mermaid.
Appearing on The Late Late Show to promote Clannad's ninth studio album 'Anam', Máire Ní Bhraonáin says a career in the music business is far from glamorous.
There were challenges during the early years on the road, especially when home comforts were a luxury and she was the person with sole responsibility for the band's finances. On the plus side, she credits her brothers and uncles with passing on a love of sport to her. Now, accommodation while touring with Clannad is something she can enjoy.
I’m well looked after.
'Anam’ was written and recorded in five months, in time for Máire Ní Bhraonáin wedding to British photographer Tim Jarvis in June of this year.
In 1985 Clannad collaborated with Bono on the song 'In A Lifetime’ which features on the album ‘Macalla’. The single was an international success, and the band were very pleased with the whole process, having long been admirers of U2,
We wanted it to be a great record.
Music was a constant presence at home when growing up. Máire Ní Bhraonáin and her eight siblings were raised with traditional music, poetry and song from her mother’s family. Contemporary music came from her father Leo, who was bandleader in the Slieve Foy Showband,
You were hearing both ends, and you grew up with that.
Máire Ní Bhraonáin sings a traditional song called ‘An Maighdean Mhara’ about a mermaid who returns to the sea, having left her human husband and children behind.
This episode of 'The Late Late Show' was broadcast on 19 October 1990. The presenter is Gay Byrne.
