Máire Brennan Interview from "A Celtic Celebration"
Produced by Ned O'Hanlon
Directed by Maurice Linnane
Edited by Brian McCue
[Appeared on PBS, August 1995]
We started off singing pop songs in the beginning. We even translated some and we'd include some traditional songs with in our program. But then we discovered rich melodies and songs, especially from Ulster. We concentrated alot on Donegal where we come from. We didn't really realise we had a sound until somebody pointed it out to us and that was when we wrote our first serious song, which is Harry's Game, in 1982. We had to standback ourselves and say "Yeah, we have a sound." It was a nice surprise.When we wrote Harry's Game we knew it was nice and it was special. It was very special to us. But honestly I never thought it would accomplish what it has in any form. It was just other people that latched on to it. Because we'd lived with the sound up to that, we hadn't realised that we did have a special sound. We thought we'd just carried on with the next phase of our life as far as writing songs.
I have to say that, just talking to various people who sing Gaelic songs as well, that Donegal Irish has a very musical sound and it lends itself beautifully to melodies. The funny thing, going back to Harry's Game again, when it was released, people didn't actually look at it as being sung in a forign language. They actually looked upon it as an instrumental really.
I like the way that Harry's Game has been around. It's not dated. I mean, it was written in 1982. For it to last this long and still have an effect on people is a huge compliment. I never never get sick of singing it. When people come up to me and say, "You know I'm sure your fed up of hearing this, but the etherial sound and your haunting voice..." I say, "No I'm not." I'm not. I think it's great! I mean, what's wrong with it? It is a nice label to have.
Our music would be leaning towards the spiritual side of the aura of it. I'd say it's very earthy, where we get our sounds. Maybe it's because Donegal having such valleys and cliffs and mountains and everything. I really do think that Donegal has an awful lot to do with the sound we get. When we finish an album, the first thing I like doing is going home, and go in the back and put the new album on and I sit back and I'm not dreaming!
Nine times out of ten that's why it comes in my face because I can feel that it comes from what I'm looking at and what I'm hearing. And it is, it's an earthy sound.