Featured photo: Donegal Dancers/Facebook
Global superstar Enya recently made her first public appearance in eight years when she attended the wedding celebration of a family friend in Rathmullan.
Enya, who lives a quiet life in a castle in Dublin, is rarely seen at events and hasn’t performed in public since 2016.
In mid-May, she attended the wedding of David McGoldrick and Sean Rodgers alongside her sister, Moya Brennan, and Moya’s husband, Tim Jarvis. Sean Rodgers has been connected with Leo’s Tavern, the Brennan family home, for his entire life.
The famous family’s appearance at the Drumhalla House wedding didn’t go unnoticed, and champion ‘Donegal Dancers’ Thomas and Emily Colangelo said it was a “privilege to have them in the crowd”.
Sharing some photos on Facebook featuring Moya Brennan, Tim Jarvis and Enya, they said: “There may be a couple familiar faces in the first pic…”
While Enya did step out to celebrate her sister Moya Brennan’s receipt of an honorary doctorate from DCU in 2022, her last red carpet appearance was the 2017 Grammy Awards where she was nominated for Best New Age Album for Dark Sky Island.
In March Enya won the RTÉ Choice Music Prize for best Classic Irish Album for Watermark, but she opted out of attending the ceremony. Her achievement was celebrated by Julie Feeney, the first winner of the RTÉ Choice Music Prize AOTY (2005), who welcomed Priscilla Kotey (Warner Music MD) to the stage to collect Enya’s award.
Enya will also be the next recipient of the Freedom of the County of Donegal, after being nominated by Cathaoirleach Niamh Kennedy at the May plenary meeting.
Cllr Kennedy said: “Despite her immense success, this woman remains a figure of mystery, preferring the solace of her Dublin residence to the spotlight, the privacy adding to her mystique, making her music a refuge for listeners all around the world.”
Cllr Kennedy highlighted Enya’s musical achievements and philanthropy, including her donation of the total royalty earnings from her single, Only Time to the Uniformed Firefighters Association’s Widows’ and Children’s Fund following 9/11 in New York City.
“After all these years, her music continues to be a source of peace and inspiration,” Cllr Kennedy added.
“We celebrate not just her music but her craft and world of tranquillity and beauty through her art.
“We acknowledge her privacy, and we don’t expect her to join us here in the county house, but we want her to know we are so very proud of her and that she deserves the highest honour that her home county can bestow.”
