The Offical Clannad Website - The unique voice to modern Irish music

The wealth of heritage and tradition that enveloped their youth has stayed with the brothers and continues to inspire them. The Rubicon album is truly a reflection of the Duggan’s talents, both as songwriters and as performers. One could say that this album is a biography of sorts for the brothers, detailing a lifetime of experience and adventure!

Why did you embark on this solo album?

Noel : We started writing for a Clannad album and got into the mood for writing. We realised then that we had a lot of songs- the makings of an album. Our manager heard the songs and thought it might be time we recorded an album ourselves. We asked Moya (Brennan), our niece, to sing one of the songs and it really escalated from there.

Padraig : Moya was doing her own thing with her solo projects at the time. Noel and I were touring with Norland Wind. Ciaran was busy in the studio too, so we really saw this as an opportunity to experiment on our own.

What gave you inspiration for the songs you wrote?

Padraig : I get ideas from many different sources. Places in Donegal are always an inspiration, such as the Poison Glen I use The Donegal Scenery a lot as a theme. Of course, loved ones, friends and family also inspire me. I also get inspiration from my animal friends, my pet cats.

Noel : Like Padraig, I get inspiration form many different places. The Silent Spring was based on the book written by Rachel Carson of that name. She wrote about the land being destroyed by chemicals and pesticides. I also get a lot of inspiration from old Irish phrases and sayings that the older generation use. Our father had a wealth of phrases and I have used some of them in my songs. Our sister Bríd has kept many these sayings alive. When I go home I listen to her talking and write the phrases down.

What musician/group most influenced you in your career?

Noel : Well Clannad was inspired in the beginning by the English group Pentangle I think we were aiming to be the Irish version, with a double bass, guitar and folk songs.

Padraig : The band Skara Brae started at around the same time as Clannad and we were similar in some ways. So they influenced us musically too.

Padraig : And The Beach Boys. Clannad focussed a lot on harmonies and I think bands like the Beach boys were a big influence in that way.

Noel : Our older brothers were another influence. Eoin had records like Duane Eddie playing while Columba was very into The Shadows. He started playing the guitar and I copied him until I could play almost all The Shadows songs. So in the beginning I wasn’t used to playing traditional music at all. That came later.

Padraig : Other Irish bands and musicians like Planxty, The Bothy Band, Paul Brady and so on are also an inspiration. The list is endless really. These days I admire the young Irish musicians who are keeping the music alive, singing in traditional style or in the Irish language.

Has your taste in music changed much over the years? What music do you listen to now at home?

Padraig : My taste in music has not really changed that much. I listen to different kinds of music depending on my mood; folk, rock, Classical, Country all types.

Noel : My favourite type of music now is folk music with good lyrics, and more recently, Classical music. At home, I listen to Norah Jones, Sarah McLachlan and Dire Straits. I recently heard a young Irish band on the radio called Arcanadh I was very impressed by them and intend to get their album. I don’t really listen to the modern rap or disco much.

Padraig : I would agree with that. I wouldn’t listen much to the modern ‘Boybands’. I know that they are aiming for a young following, they are all so polished and good-looking! I might pay more attention if they played instruments.

Were you involved with music from an early age?

Noel : When we were in National school our parents sent us to Piano lessons. We reached Grade 3 but then gave it up. I think we saw the piano as not being modern enough at the time. We went for the guitar instead because of the Rolling Stones and similar bands. We started playing locally at first in local groups such as The Storm Showband and the new Slieve Foy. After we qualified as Radio Officers we had a decision to make, and we decided to give music a go professionally.

Padraig : Very early on we performed in Pantomimes in the Local Theatre group. The Golden Rule was that every word spoken and sung on stage had to be in the Irish language. For this reason, we found ourselves translating songs by The Beatles and The Beachboys into Gaeilge for the stage performances.

As twins, do you always agree musically?

Noel : No! When we co-write Padraig mostly writes the lyrics and I write the music although the reverse is also true. We write individually too. As regard music, I get more involved in the arrangement side of things; intros, middle eights and so on.

Padraig : No we don’t always agree! I think we have different writing styles. But, when we do co-write I think it works well. In this album, Lúrabog and The Bird are two of the songs that were co-written by us.

Padraig, you wrote the Gaeilge Popsong ‘Lisa’ which appears on this album. What is the story behind this song?

Padraig : In the early 1970’s, Clannad won the Letterkenny Folk festival with that song. I actually wrote it up on the roof of Leo’s Tavern! I was up there for some reason with my guitar. It is an upbeat popsong, I suppose I was influenced by bands such as The Beatles. It was a unique song at the time a popsong in Gaeilge! It proved popular in the local schools the young people seemed to adopt it.

Noel, on a previous album you wrote about the Native Americans could you elaborate on this?

Noel : I was watching the Late Late Show one night and one of the guests was a Native American chief called Gary Bravedeer. He was in Ireland selling pictures I bought one for £IR 800. I was really struck by the story he told. The Native Americans sent £IR 70 to Ireland in the 1800’s to help the people who were starving in the famine. I couldn’t believe it - it was a huge amount of money in those days. I thought it was a great story and it inspired me to write The Trail of Tears.

You mention Tory Island a lot what is the significance of Tory to you?

Noel : Our family come from Tory island going back a few generations, so it is an important place to us. We have many cousins in Tory to this day and we go out there from time to time. The people are very welcoming!

You have just returned from a successful tour of Germany with another group, Norland Wind how did you meet and what is your relationship?

Padraig : We tour in Europe with Norland Wind twice a year throughout Germany and Holland at the various music festivals. We really enjoy it. Noel and I sing the Gaeilge songs such as Baidín Fheidhlimí. There is a marriage of two musical styles that seems to work well.

Noel :The man who leads Norland Wind, Thomas Loefke met Clannad years ago as a young boy. He admired the band, and was especially taken with Moya and the Harp. Years later he formed Norland Wind with two others, Ian Melrose and Peter Yak. When they left the band he rang the two of us and asked us to join him in concert in Germany. We thought why not!

Padraig : It is a multi-national band. There are 2 Berliners, 1 Danish musician, 3 Irish and 1 guy from East Germany. It is a unique combination.

You have collaborated with a lot of people on this album including Patsy Dan Rodgers and Finbar Fury could you expand on that?

Padraig : This is a Duggan album with 18 guest musicians in all all of whom are friends of ours in one way or another. Our nieces Brídín and Deirdre (Brennan) are also on board. We really enjoyed making this album.

Noel : We invited the various guests as we went along. Padraig and I felt that the song The Bird would suit Finbar Fury. We had toured with Finbar before and know him personally. Moya joined us for a song too we wanted to have her as a guest. For one of the Gaeilge songs, we invited Patsy Dan Rodgers, The King of Tory Island. He sings in sean-nós and we then join him in a more modern beat. We thought it was important to have ‘the real thing’.

What was the highlight of your career with Clannad?

Noel : Winning the Ivor Novello award for Harry’s game was certainly a highlight as well as the Grammy for the album, Landmarks. In fact, any of the awards we won were very important to us, from the Letterkenny folk festival award in the 1970’s to the bigger awards later. Another highlight was the early days in Germany when we played for thousands of people. We were just starting out in those days and it was a huge achievement for us.

Padraig : Yes, the Grammy has to be the pinnacle of our achievement. It was very emotional we won on our third nomination. Backstage at the ceremony, we met many big artists including one of my heroes Emylou Harris. She congratulated us and told me that her daughter was a Clannad fan! Being on Top of the Pops was a highlight as well.

Clannad have travelled widely over the years what was the favourite place that you visited with the group?

Padraig :New Zealand was a favourite of mine. It was very different from Australia, which I didn’t expect. It reminded me a lot of the Donegal landscape and scenery and so I felt at home there. Holland is also a favourite. The Dutch people were very friendly and looked after us well. I also enjoyed the States, particularly New York, but also the West Coast cities. Japan was amazing. I found the culture completely different from our own.

Noel : New Zealand was also a favourite of mine for the same reasons. We found the people to be friendly and generous. We had sell-out concerts in Auckland and Christchurch so that might have something to do with it! I also loved Switzerland where I went skiing for the first time. It is a beautiful country. I find it impressive that they have four different languages in such a small country.

What was your favourite Clannad album?

Padraig : I don’t have a favourite as such, but my favourite time in Clannad was the 1970’s - and so the albums that we made in that time are important to me.

Noel : It’s difficult to say Magical Ring was important as it was the crossroads between the old and new Clannad sounds.

What was the biggest thing that you learned with Clannad?

Noel :That’s hard to say! It might be that it is important to do you own thing. Our aim is not to be particularly commercial but to make music the way that we want.

Padraig : With Clannad, we were lucky enough to see the world! That was something that Noel and I wanted to do, and Clannad made it possible.

What's next on the horizon?

Noel :We are still writing! We are in the real writing mood now and there are plenty more songs to be written. We are hoping to start work on a new Clannad album shortly.

Padraig : We did start going it alone quite late but it is giving us a lot of pleasure now. We are definitely looking forward to recording with the niece and nephews again soon.

The Duggans and Friends

Why did you embark on this solo album?

What gave you inspiration for the songs you wrote?

What musician/group most influenced you in your career?

Has your taste in music changed much over the years? What music do you listen to now at home?

Were you involved with music from an early age?

As twins, do you always agree musically?

Padraig, you wrote the Gaeilge Popsong ‘Lisa’ which appears on this album. What is the story behind this song?

Noel, on a previous album you wrote about the Native Americans could you elaborate on this?

You mention Tory Island a lot what is the significance of Tory to you?

You have just returned from a successful tour of Germany with another group, Norland Wind how did you meet and what is your relationship?

You have collaborated with a lot of people on this album including Patsy Dan Rodgers and Finbar Fury could you expand on that?

What was the highlight of your career with Clannad?

Clannad have travelled widely over the years what was the favourite place that you visited with the group?

What was your favourite Clannad album?

What was the biggest thing that you learned with Clannad?

What's next on the horizon?

Listen to clips from Rubicon..

The Duggans and Friends

Why did you embark on this solo album?

What gave you inspiration for the songs you wrote?

What musician/group most influenced you in your career?

Has your taste in music changed much over the years? What music do you listen to now at home?

Were you involved with music from an early age?

As twins, do you always agree musically?

Padraig, you wrote the Gaeilge Popsong ‘Lisa’ which appears on this album. What is the story behind this song?

Noel, on a previous album you wrote about the Native Americans ­ could you elaborate on this?

You mention Tory Island a lot ­ what is the significance of Tory to you?

You have just returned from a successful tour of Germany with another group, Norland Wind ­ how did you meet and what is your relationship?

You have collaborated with a lot of people on this album including Patsy Dan Rodgers and Finbar Fury ­ could you expand on that?

What was the highlight of your career with Clannad?

Clannad have travelled widely over the years ­ what was the favourite place that you visited with the group?

What was your favourite Clannad album?

What was the biggest thing that you learned with Clannad?

What's next on the horizon?

Listen to clips from Rubicon..

Noel, on a previous album you wrote about the Native Americans could you elaborate on this?

You mention Tory Island a lot what is the significance of Tory to you?

You have just returned from a successful tour of Germany with another group, Norland Wind how did you meet and what is your relationship?

You have collaborated with a lot of people on this album including Patsy Dan Rodgers and Finbar Fury could you expand on that?

Clannad have travelled widely over the years what was the favourite place that you visited with the group?