It had a cottage industry feel to it and things seemed to be developing slowly. Enya moved in and the three friends set to work on crafting a distinctive and ambitious creative vision, built around Enya’s musicianship and voice, Nicky’s meticulous and highly original production skills and Roma’s emerging ability as a lyricist and story-teller.
Nicky built a studio at the back of the house he shared with Roma in suburban Artane, on the northside of Dublin. She was a sixth member of the group – in one form or another – for two years before leaving alongside the band’s long-standing sound sculptor and producer Nicky Ryan and his partner in work, and in life, Roma Ryan. Enya – who was the fifth child in the family – observed at close quarters what being in a modern folk group was all about.Īfter she finished school, Enya studied music for a year, before going on the road with Clannad. In 1970, her sister Moya Ní Bhraonáin had formed Clannad with her brothers Ciarán and Pól, and uncles Noel and Padraig. Enya’s place in the Irish song canon was forever secure.Įnya (or Eithne) Ní Bhraonáin grew up surrounded by music in Gweedore, an Irish language-speaking Gaeltacht area in Co. The classically-trained instrumentalist had teamed up with Roma Ryan as a writing partnership – and in ‘Orinoco Flow’ they created a song that would take Ireland by storm – and become one of the most successful popular hits of the era across the world. It was a vital shift which culminated in the rise of Sinéad O’Connor – and also of an artist who sang on Sinead’s debut album by the name of Eithne Ní Bhraonáin aka Enya. With music playing an increasingly important part in liberalising Ireland, women began to claim their rightful creative place. That started to change significantly as the 1980s unfolded. But female songwriters seldom got a proper look in. There were songs written for women and we had outstanding female vocalists, especially in the folk tradition, going back to the likes of the legendary Traveller singer Margaret Barry, with great song interpreters like Mary Black, Maura O’Connell, Dolores Keane, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Mary Coughlan leading the way in the late '70s and early '80s. Historically, Ireland’s cultural and religious history had often seen women being shunted to the sidelines.
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