Their showstopper was an extended version of “Nil Se’n Lá,” with each member taking a solo improvisation, including Pól on flute and Ciarán on double bass among their other mainstays were “Siúil a Rúin,” “Two Sisters” and “Down by the Salley Gardens,” and instrumentals like “Eleanor Plunkett” and “Brian Boru’s March.” Even in the early years, though, Clannad showed a predilection for going outside the traditional realm, what with a haunting cover of Bonnie Dobson’s “Morning Dew” and Padraig and Pól’s sprightly pop composition “Liza” – surely one of the earliest examples of Gaelic folk rock. To be sure, the rock, jazz, and other modern influences were there, but their sound was predominantly acoustic and they played a far more traditional-oriented repertoire – many of their songs in Gaelic – with Moya Brennan’s captivating lead vocals and Irish harp in a very prominent role. Nomenclature aside, by the end of the 1990s, Clannad had become an international success, with record sales of more than 15 million, film and TV soundtracks, and several awards, including a Grammy.īut the 1970s Clannad was a significantly different creature. The now-ubiquitous “Celtic” tag also became associated with them in some quarters, which made for pretty lively discussions among pundits and listeners. Most retrospectives of Clannad focus on their 1980s hits, notably “In a Lifetime” – featuring Moya Brennan’s celebrated vocal duet with U2’s Bono – “Theme from Harry’s Game” and “Newgrange,” and their lush, reverb-accentuated, synthesizer-boosted sound often regarded as a prototype of “new age” music. So, it will be the Brennan siblings, Moya (harp, vocals), Pól (flute, guitar, whistles, vocals) and Ciarán (double bass, guitar, keyboards, vocals) – Noel and Pádraig were their uncles – fronting the band when the curtain rises at the Wilbur. Ultimately, the tour was split into UK/Ireland and US legs. Then last October, guitarist/vocalist Noel Duggan died – six years after his twin brother Pádraig, who also sang and played guitar, mandolin and mandola, had passed away. It was originally supposed to take place in Ireland, the UK, and US between March and October of 2020 but got pushed back due to the pandemic.

Sadly, Clannad’s “In a Lifetime” farewell tour has not been a smooth-running affair. Clannad, the Donegal family band that improbably became a worldwide pop music sensation, is calling it quits after more than 50 years, and will bid adieu to Boston on Sept.

Clannad band songs