[18] They grew up in Dore, a remote parish in Gweedore, County Donegal in north-western Ireland, a Gaeltacht region where Irish was the main spoken language.

[22] The five young musicians made their live debut in 1970 at a music competition held during the inaugural Slógadh Youth Festival in Letterkenny.

Máire, the eldest member, who had learned the harp and could play "holy songs and Brian Boru", was elected lead vocalist.

They had not intended to enter the competition, but were encouraged to try by the local police sergeant and family members,[23] and they submitted their entry form with ten minutes to spare before the post was to be collected.

[4] They established themselves as an acoustic folk group, collecting material from old singers and story-tellers in Donegal[27] and building a repertoire of traditional Irish songs, arranged in a contemporary style for a full band.

They recorded at Eamonn Andrews Studios in Dublin, choosing Irish and English songs and a cover of "Morning Dew" by Bonnie Dobson.

Like their first album, Clannad 2 featured a mixture of English and Irish songs, with Lunny and members of the Bothy Band on additional instruments.

By the time Clannad entered Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin to record their next album, Fuaim (Sound), Enya had become a full-time member.

This album continued the group's experimentation with electronic instruments, and Enya was featured on lead vocals on "An tÚll" and "Buaireadh an Phósta".

They accepted an invitation to record the title music for Harry's Game, a three-part television drama depicting The Troubles in Northern Ireland, based on the novel of the same name by Gerald Seymour.

It was recorded in two days and became an atmospheric piece featuring a Prophet-5 synthesizer and over 100 tracked vocals, a departure from their usual acoustic folk sound.

In addition to "Theme from Harry's Game", it featured a mix of original and traditional Irish songs plus a cover of "I See Red" by Jim Rafferty.

[40] Around this time, Maire noted that although the group had lost fans of their traditional folk sound, they had gained new ones as a result of their commercial success.

[37] A month after Magical Ring was released, the band were commissioned to score the 26-episode television drama series Robin of Sherwood, which was broadcast on ITV from 1984 to 1986.

[42] The album featured numerous backing musicians, who continued to work with the band on tour, including ex-King Crimson saxophonist Mel Collins, Moving Hearts' guitarist Anthony Drennan, and drummer Paul Moran.

Also on board was producer Steve Nye, who oversaw the pop-flavoured "Closer to Your Heart" and the ballad "Almost Seems (Too Late to Turn)" which became hit singles.

In October 1987, Clannad worked with American producers Greg Ladanyi and Russ Kunkel, drummer of James Taylor's band, on their next album, Sirius.

[30] Sirius featured "Something to Believe In", a duet with Bruce Hornsby on vocals and keyboards, and guest appearances by Steve Perry and JD Souther.

[43] In between their 1988 tour dates, the group scored three episodes of the BBC wildlife documentary series Natural World about the Atlantic Ocean, which were broadcast in January 1989.

[44] In 1989, Pól Brennan left Clannad to work with Peter Gabriel as a producer for the WOMAD arts festival and as an acoustic specialist.

[31] The band continued as a four-piece and wrote, arranged and recorded their next album, Anam (Soul), in under three months, with Ciarán Brennan becoming their producer and primary songwriter.

[50] "Croí Cróga" ("Brave Heart") was originally written for the Mel Gibson film Braveheart (1995), but did not make the final cut.

[54] In May 2008, Clannad's version of the traditional song "Down by the Salley Gardens" was featured in the listening paper for Music GCSE from the Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations exam board.

In 2016, Moya Brennan announced she had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive lung disease that required her to rephrase the vocals to some songs.

Released on April 3 by BMG, the album was available on CD, vinyl, digital platforms, and a deluxe edition that contained over 100 tracks spanning their career.

[63] The tour concluded in Seattle, Washington on October 9, 2023, after which Clannad planned to disband, with individual members pursuing solo projects.

Despite their success with this genre of music, the group maintained a link with their Gaelic roots, giving traditional Irish songs such as "Tráthnóna Beag Aréir" and "Buachaill Ón Éirne" the Clannad treatment.

[67] Lead singer Moya Brennan said that Clannad's "otherworldly" and "ethereal" sound came from the ancient hills and glens that surrounded Gweedore.

[68] Traces of Clannad's legacy can be heard in the music of many artists, including Enya, Altan, Capercaillie, The Corrs, Loreena McKennitt, Anúna, Riverdance, Órla Fallon and U2.

[71] A Japanese visual novel released in 2004, which spawned a 2007 film and a 2007–08 television series based on it, was named after the band because screenwriter Jun Maeda mistakenly believed it to mean the word "family" in Irish.