(Note: MB> = Máire Brennan speaking)


MODERATOR> Hello and welcome to tonight's chat with Maire Brennan! Hello Maire.


MB> Thanks to everyone who is chatting tonight - hello from Dublin! I feel well, although it's 1:00 in the morning. I'm thrilled with the release of my new album!


Michael> Hi Maire. Is your book going to describe your spiritual journey as well as your musiclal one? When would you expect it to be published?


MB> I'm not terribly sure - because I'm going to the States in two weeks and I'll be away until December, they thought that because I'd be away and unable to support it and then with Christmas and the millennium, there is so much going on that they thought it would be best to wait until the new year.
MB> I think it might be after Christmas.
MB> It's due for publication next autumn. It would be one of the main reasons for me doing the book is to show my life and where I'm at now, which is spiritually very important to me. The publisher took a while convinving me that it's the best thing for me to do, because you need to go into the darker side of life as well. It's harder than any album, I'll tell you that much!


rock> what is your favourite castle in ireland?


MB> As far as staying in the castle, I stayed recently in Waterford Castle. When you arrive, it's on a little island and you take a little ferry across to get there, one or maybe two cars at a time. You just geton the island and you stay there. It's so peaceful and beautiful. It's really lovely to stay there. The rooms are authentic and the food is great, and it's not haunted. *laugh*


MarkJ> My one year old son was listening to the new album today and really picked up on Paul on the Peacemaker track. He stopped swaying to the music and smiled! How was it working with your son on the album? It does seem very much a family affair.


MB> Yes, it is a family affair, I guess. Tim Jarvis, my husband, wrote quite a bit with me, my mother's choir - I do a song with my mum's choir, and in that choir are my sister and my father. It happened quite natural with my song. It's Francis of Assissi's prayer, and I wanted to do something with it. It started off with the rhythm of it, and then I put down an oooh - that's the only way I can describe it - and I thought to put the prayer on the album would be nice. But then I asked my son, w
MB> He's five now.
MB> I don't like to push my kids into doing anything.
MB> What better way to get it across but from the voice of a child.
MB> It thrills me that other children can relate to it.


noodle> Have you ever considered a duet with Enya?


MB> Only if it was appropriate.
MB> Any time I've dueted with people it's been quite spontaneous - whether it was with Bono or Bruce Hornsby or even with Michael McDonald.


Arthur> I loved your last concert, I'm going to bring my kids to your next concert in November. Are you going to include some old Clannad songs again, as well as some new material?


MB> Oh yes, definitely.


jude corscadden> what are your opinions on the modern revival of celtic(horrible word) druidry


MB> the reason I got into the celtic spirituality was because I think it's something that's lost when you talk about celtic culture.
MB> The revival of Celtic culture is, to me, a lot to do with that, really. More so than the druids that were there beforehand.
MB> That really comes from the spirituality. Ireland has been used as a Christian country, with the missionries from the 700-800s. and when the dark ages was happening in Europe you had Ireland, which was in the golden age and the land of saints and scholars.
MB> Since 432 when Patrick came to Ireland, it really made a huge impact as far as the way people changed, and within their character and their culture and the way they gained hope and courage, especially in the tragedy that surrounds Ireland, the songwriting - especially songs that I have sung - you can hear so much hope and courage within that.


Foxfire> Oooh will your song "Don't give up" a duet with Michael mcDonald be available on a single ?


MB> I don't think so. It is actually going to be added - because the Streams album wasn't released on mainstream over here, I think they're going to include it as a ghost track on this album so it gets a chance to be heard.


jaybird> What album have you been listening to the most lately?


MB> What the kids are listening to (laughs) because it's on all the time. There are lots of young bands that the kids would love, that they play.
MB> B*Witched, Boyzone, The Corrs...they're on all the time, so I suppose I listen to them a lot.


jaybird> Hey Maire. I've been listening to your artful work since the late eighties. You have a very distinguished career, and I'm pleased that you are so committed to making music. I'm looking forward to hearing your new album. Just out of curiousity, are there any special cameo appearances on the album by friends of yours that we should know about?


MB> No. Just my family and me. There are people that you would know, but wonderful traditional musicians on the album.


Celt> I hope it will never happen, but do you foresee an end to Clannad any time?


MB> Well, not at the moment! We're just taking a short break, and it's giving me the opportunity to do this.
MB> We've been going for 29 years, professionally for 25, and it's been great! I've enjoyed it. If we take it easy, I think we can live a long time.


Rycky> what are the main influences in your music?


MB> My musical influences would probably stem from what I listened to growing up - Joni Mitchell, The Beach Boys, The Beatles...things like that.
MB> I think the influences in my music is one of being what I've soaked up through the last 30 years, really. it wouldn't be one specific thing now.


Justin> Does the American audience react differently than your Irish audience during concerts?


MB> Well, when I did the tour last February-March in America, it was my first solo tour there.
MB> I was really taken aback - I mean, I was thrilled by the way that people enjoyed me and welcomed me. In Canada as well - I've always enjoyed playing there.
MB> I suppose Irish audiences can be more critical toward their own - when I come here I'm almost accepted easier. I enjoy playing at home, and I enjoy playing abroad as well.
MB> It was actually wonderful.
MB> It would be books that I read, particularly about Celtic spirituality and Christianity. Musically, I listen across the board to a lot of things.
MB> But it was just more to do with, I suppose, being on the road, living in hotels, travelling all the time - I got lazy and irresponsible.
MB> I certainly did.


Justin> I've noticed that the last two albums have used alot of drum looping (which I think sounds brilliant). Is there a reason you've opted for loops instead of drummers? (Not forgetting Dee on the bohran!)


MB> I'll tell Dee that.
MB> I suppose timewise, it does help, being able to experiment a bit more with different rhythms.
MB> We've used drummers on occasion, and on previous solo album I used a wonderful percussionist! I try to mix both because I think it sounds more interesting.
MB> I think it's probably good to have a handle on it yourself.


ah1gcobra> Maire, It's so nice to see your music heading in a spiritual direction. But it seems that all of your familys music has a mystical, spiritual quality to it. Do you feel that you wandered from your Christian upbringing at some time in your life?


MB> I certainly did.
MB> But it was just more to do with, I suppose, being on the road, living in hotels, travelling all the time - I got lazy and irresponsible.
MB> I think the spiritual aspect of it is very much in keeping in the way we regard nature - where I grew up, I'd say it was spiritual because of the beautiful creation around me.
MB> It's nice to do what I'm doing now. There's nothing wrong with doing something that has direct spiritual contact with God.


Fionan> Maire, if you had to pick one song you've heard that you wished you had written yourself, which would it be?


MB> When You've Got a Friend, by James Taylor. Or one or two of Joni Mitchell's.


Justin> Where were the photos for the new album taken?


MB> A wonderful little island called Dalkey Island, not too far from where I'm living now.
MB> It's beautiful! Even though it was July, summertime in Ireland, it was cold!


patty> Which message would you like to give to young people with your music?


MB> I'd like to think that they get a sense of contentment and peace from it. A certain amount of happiness, or finding themselves, or reflecting on this mad world that we live in. That would probably be it.


Kateithne> Have you ever played a practical joke on anyone in your family or on your friends?


MB> Well, I mean, in the family we're always playing practical jokes on each other.
MB> There are so many little things!
MB> Pretending somebody was looking for you and you went out the back door and there was a donkey there - silly things like that.


Fiel> Maire, how many instruments do you play?


MB> My main instrument is the Irish harp. I play a keyboard - a piano - and a little bit of guitar. And the bohran as well - I can master the bohran a little.


Justin> What drew you to playing the harp?


MB> My father sent me to boarding school when I was in my teens.
MB> Because they taught the harp in this school, and he thought it would be nice for me to learn it.
MB> I hated it at first - there's this image of the Irish colleen - all I needed was a shawl. I hated the image. But it was nice to be part of a group, and the harp to be part of an arrangement of things, instead of just as an accompanyment to a singer.
MB> I like playing melodies on the harp.


patty> Was it hard to grow up in Donegal?


MB> No, because coming from a large family, it was great. There were no houses around where I come from when we were growing up.
MB> Now there are, but then it was quite remote. Because we were a large family it was fine. I didn't see TV until I was 15, and even then it was black and white.
MB> I was fascinated by it. And cars were very rare, but what you don't know, you don't miss.


Deborah_Brazil> I want to give you congratulations for your albums. I can't understand some lyrics in Irish, but I can feel your emotion, when you are singing. It' s wonderful! Because of this, my dream is to see your concert , one day, here in Brazil, Do you know that you have a lot of fans here in Brazil?


MB> Thank you so much for enjoying the music!
MB> I am aware that we have people that know our music out there and love it, and I'm glad that it makes you feel so good listening to the Gaelic.
MB> The reason we sing the Gaelic is, emotionally, it's beautiful to sing. It's sometimes transcends descriptions in Ireland. It's a very emotional language.
MB> Nature is used in describing the emotions that relate to what is being said or what the song is about, so it's nice that you can feel that!


jaybird> Maire, how extensive will your touring in the States be next year?


MB> I'm going to be touring the full month of November, and depending on how successful that is, I'd like to go back next year to do more.
MB> I suppose it depends on how well the album does and how well my concerts are received.


Fiel> How did you come to sing a the "Josephine" song on Back To Titanic? - Did James Cameron or James Horner ask you?


MB> James Cameron suggested it. He wanted the song on the second album because there were some songs that weren't put on the first one.
MB> He's got a daughter called Josephine, and my name came up as a suggestion to sing it. I was asked if I'd do it, and I said yes, and then I didn't hear anything for a couple of months!
MB> Myself and my family were away camping and I turned the mobile off, and when I came back that Sunday evening there were messages after me all over the place - could I be in LA yesterday?
MB> I was in LA that Monday, sang Come Josephine on Tuesday, finished it on Wednesday and was back on Thursday.
MB> It was lovely to do. My father said that his mother used to sing it - it was an old musical song that his mother used to sing.


jude corscadden> did you enjoy doing the chicane track


MB> This is fantastic - Nick from Chicane really believed that this would be a hit over here.
MB> Because Harry's Game was never done to a click track, he asked if I'd sing it for him.
MB> I went to London and layered my voice, and we completely redid Harry's game.
MB> The lines, the extra lines- all of it. It was such a tremendous hit over here in Ireland! It was really great fun, and it was great to do the top of the pops and the Pepsi charts and programs that I thought I'd never do again!
MB> Being on road shows and singing to thousands of young kids - it was great, great fun and I enjoyed it immensely.


noodle> why is 'Against the Wind' the only song of it's kind in your repetoire? Was it hard to create? Have you ever thought of making another song in it's league? I like the use of the percussion and drums in 'A Mhurunín Ó'.


MB> It's just the way it happened! When I go into the studio, I really don't know the end result of the song. If you look at Harry's Game - Clannad never did a repeat of anything like that. Either it happens or it doesn't.


Justin> What is the best way for a non-Irish person to learn Irish Gaelic?


MB> it's a difficult language. If you really want to learn - if there's nowhere near you that teaches it, learning it by tape would be the first step.
MB> Eventually you'd have to come to Ireland and speak it here. I know people from other countries around the world who have learned it, and who came to Ireland and lived with people who speak it.
MB> That's the best way to gain the benefit from it.
MB> In the summer especially, there are a lot of short and long courses that you can take. You can stay with a local family and take classes.


Fionan> Maire, I understand that your name is NOT pronounced like Marie... but rather Moy-ya. Is that accurate?


MB> Yes. It's because it's a Gaelic name.
MB> Reading Gaelic and saying it sometimes are two different things.
MB> Marie - the 'i' would be in a different place, and the accent on the 'a' is very important.
MB> If you were from any area in America or England or whatever, you have different ways of saying things.
MB> In Donegal we don't pronounce the 'r's in our vocabulary. That's why it comes out more like Moy-ya.


Kateithne> Was it hard for you to learn English, and how old were you when you started speaking it?


MB> When I went to school, I would have done all of my subjects in Gaelic and I would have learned English as a subject. I would have been five or six when I started to learn English properly.


JFR1956aolcom> What are the chances of a video so we can enjoy the visual aspect of your songs?


MB> Ask the record company. *laugh*


Fionan> Maire, who's your favorite author? Why?


MB> I don't have any particular favorite author. I like all sorts of books.
MB> At the moment I've been reading a lot of books on Celtic culture and Celtic Christianity and the saints of Ireland and things of that sort.
MB> I don't have too much of a chance to read, apart from things that I'm interested in and want to gain information from.


Justin> The Posion Glen in Gweedore apparently has a legend attached to it, and you sing about it on the Anam album. What is the legend?


MB> There are several legends. There is a legend about a one-eyed giant that says that his eye was pierced by one of our giants - that's one of the legends.
MB> Another legend is that a local legend was trapped in a church and someone poisoned the water to get rid of the army, and they didn't drink the water until they were all dead.
MB> The third legend is that there are poisonous berries in that kind of valley.
MB> Typical Irish - you don't get just one explanation.


MarkJ> There's a huge fanbase that's online. Do get time to check out the various fan sites and message boards. If so, what do you think?


MB> Sometimes people read them out to me or people tell me about them.
MB> I must do more with checking them out - I'm not great on the Internet as yet. *laugh* So please excuse me.


sawem> how does a person know they're a musician?


MB> I suppose if you feel the music.
MB> You have to remember that you can be a great poet and you don't need to have great melodies.
MB> I think if you can't play an instrument- if you picked up a guitar or something and you have rhythm, it kind of helps to know what's there, but it's something that you have to explore and discover yourself.
MB> In doing that, you have to put yourself in a situation that allows you to find out.
MB> Like learning an instrument and practicing. Learning an instrument isn't like picking up an instrument and suddenly you can play.
MB> People have to work at it. Don't get illusioned if you can't play after a week - we have to exercise our fingers and work at it.


Justin> What is it about the Irish culture that generates such imaginative and passionate thinking?


MB> I do think Irish people are very passionate by nature.
MB> I think that the spirituality of the Irish people has a lot to do with that as well, because of the strength that they gained from it.


Arthur> Are you goiing to be touring with the same musicians as your last tour?


MB> Well, the guitar player from my last tour has gone back to college to finish his studies in music. I have a new guitarist - he's wonderful, a great singer.
MB> My sister Dierdre was with me on the last tour, but she just had a baby so she'll be missing.
MB> And I have another keyboardist - he's wonderful. He comes from a family of thirteen, if you can believe it!


Justin> What is it about the Irish culture that generates such imaginative and passionate thinking?


MB> I do think Irish people are very passionate by nature.
MB> I think that the spirituality of the Irish people has a lot to do with that as well, because of the strength that they gained from it.
MB> We're very up front about things. If you come to Ireland, people will always talk to you. We don't let things go very easily, and that might be a problem. It's amazing for such a small country to have so much influence. We have so much influence on the music and the art of the world.


MB> It's nice to be able to get out there and meet some of you ,so I hope to see you soon! Enjoy the music, and thanks a million.
MB> And my sister Enya - of the family in general. It's been so lovely to be able to play music that we love, and for people to appreciate it.
MB> I really would love to thank everyone who has been so supportive of Clannad and myself.


MODERATOR> TWEC.com would like to thank Maire Brennan for stopping by tonight! Maire is there anything you would like to say to everyone who has stopped by tonight?

MB> Go Raibh Maith Agaibh - that means Thank You in Gaelic.

MODERATOR> Thank you to everyone who came to tonight's chat.
MODERATOR> A complete transcript of tonight's chat will be available in the coming days at TWEC.com
MODERATOR> TWEC.com would like to thank Maire Brennan for joining us tonight!
MODERATOR> Thank you Maire!! Please come back again soon.
MODERATOR> Ok one more question for you Maire, before we go.

noodle> what do Clannad whisper at the beginning of 'In a Lifetime?!


MB> It's myself and Bono talking about the night before we recorded this.
MB> There was a terrible thunder and lightning storm, and when we came in the next day with lyrics, that's why the chorus goes First the Thunder, then the storm.
MB> We were saying things in Gaelic - I was teaching him things and he was saying them.
MB> Well spotted, whoever caught that!

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