Enya was born and brought up in Gweedore ( known in Irish as Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, in the northwest corner of Ireland.

Enya played the keyboard and provided backing vocals on their album Crann Úll ( 1980 ), although she was not officially a member of the group until the 1981 release Fuaim, when she appeared on the cover.

During that same year, Enya was also a member of Ragairne, the band of Altan front-woman Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.

She was first credited as Enya ( as opposed to Eithne ) for writing some of the music for the 1984 movie The Frog Prince, which was released on a soundtrack album of the same title.

Enya was contracted to provide music for the soundtrack of the 1986 BBC television documentary The Celts.

The music she produced was featured on her first solo album, Enya ( 1987 ), but it attracted little attention at the time.

Enya was quoted as saying: " The success of Watermark surprised me.

In 1992 a re-mastered version of the Enya album was released as The Celts including a longer, modified version of " Portrait ", which was renamed " Portrait ( Out of the Blue )".

Enya was the subject in the song " Pumping Iron for Enya " by Atom and His Package on their 1999 album Making Love.

Enya released a special edition of the song, and a maxi single was issued on 20 November 2001 featuring a pop mix, with proceeds donated to the families of victims.

In 2001 Enya recorded " May It Be ", which was featured in the first installment of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring, and was her second consecutive single to enter the German charts at number one.

Enya issued a press release on her official Web site on 19 September stating that this was a mistake and no new album was immediately forthcoming.

On 10 October 2006 Sounds of the Season: The Enya Holiday Collection was released containing six songs: the previously released " Oíche Chiúin " ( a. k. a. " Silent Night ") and " Amid the Falling Snow ", new recordings of the standards " Adeste Fideles " ( a. k. a. " Oh Come All Ye Faithful ") and " We Wish You a Merry Christmas " as well as two original songs, " Christmas Secrets " and " The Magic of the Night ".

The first official home video collection of music videos by Enya, Moonshadows, was issued on VHS by Warner Music in 1991, containing most of her music videos up until that point.

In 2000 Warner Music released Enya: The Video Collection on DVD in Europe, South Africa and Asia, collecting all her videos from " Orinoco Flow " up to and including " Wild Child ", except for the video from " Book of Days ", which was replaced by a live TV performance due to licensing complications relating to the video's use of footage from the film Far and Away.

Their debut album, Orinoco Flow: The Music of Enya, was a collection of songs originally created and sung by Enya.

This prompted a lawsuit resulting in a settlement where Enya was given credit and royalties for her sample .< ref > Battles, Jan. " Rap takes Enya's 12 notes up chart ", Sunday Times 03 / 28 / 2004.

His losing streak was broken when he received the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2001, for the Monsters, Inc. song " If I Didn't Have You ", beating Sting, Enya and Paul McCartney.

" Boudica has also been the primary subject of songs by Irish singer / songwriter Enya, Dutch soprano Petra Berger, Scottish singer / songwriter Steve McDonald, English metal band Bal-Sagoth, Faith and the Muse and Dreams in the Witching House.

Enya ( born Eithne Ní Bhraonáin,, anglicized as Enya Brennan, 17 May 1961 ) is an Irish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter.

Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.

Enya recorded two solo instrumental pieces called " An Ghaoth Ón Ghrian " ( Irish for " The Solar Wind ") and " Miss Clare Remembers " that were released on the 1984 album Touch Travel.

Another early appearance on record followed in 1987, where Enya provided spoken ( not sung ) vocals in Irish on the song " Never Get Old " on Sinéad O ' Connor's debut album, The Lion and the Cobra.

A 1989 recording of Enya singing " Oíche Chiúin ", an Irish language version of " Silent Night ", has been reissued at least twice: on The Christmas EP ( which otherwise contains several non-holiday related previously issued recordings by Enya ) and the 1997 edition of the charity album A Very Special Christmas.

As a musical group Enya represents a partnership between three people: Enya herself, who composes and performs the music ; Nicky Ryan, who produces the albums ; and Roma Ryan, who writes the lyrics in various languages, except Irish, in which Enya will render the lyrics herself.

In 2006, Enya made it to the number three spot in the ranks of wealthy Irish entertainers with an estimated fortune of € 109 million ( i. e., £ 75 million or US $ 165 million ), and number 95 in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006 of the 250 Wealthiest Irish People.

* May 17 – Enya ( Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin ), Irish musician

* The Celts ( album ), a 1992 album by Irish musician Enya

Gaoth Dobhair in County Donegal is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland, which is home to regional studios of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta and world-class musicians, such as Proinsias Ó Maonaigh, Altan, Moya Brennan ( Máire Ní Bhraonáin ), Enya ( Eithne ), and Clannad, who were all raised with Irish as their first language.

She also appeared in the music video for the song " Caribbean Blue " by Irish singer Enya.

However, the most successful genres have been rock, popular and traditional fusion, with performers such as U2, Enya, Westlife, Boyzone, Phil Lynott and Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore, Rory Gallagher, Horslips, Bob Geldof and The Boomtown Rats, Clannad, Stiff Little Fingers, Altan, Frank Patterson, The Corrs, The Dubliners, The Chieftains, The Bothy Band, De Dannan, The Divine Comedy, Josef Locke, The Irish Tenors, Van Morrison, Therapy ?, The Saw Doctors, Planxty, The Wolfe Tones, Snow Patrol, The Cranberries, In Tua Nua, The Undertones, Ash, B * Witched, Nadine Coyle, The Hothouse Flowers, The Script, Two Door Cinema Club, Something Happens, The Clancy Brothers, Tommy Makem, Dana, Mundy, Sinéad O ' Connor, Paul Brady, Christy Moore, Dónal Lunny, Val Doonican, Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly, Ruby Murray, Peter Cunnah ( of D: Ream ), Daniel O ' Donnell, Bridie Gallagher, Brendan Bowyer, Gilbert O ' Sullivan, Mary Black, Sir James Galway, Johnny Logan, Bill Whelan ( of Riverdance fame ), Damien Rice, Phil Coulter, Glen Hansard, and Celtic Woman achieving success nationally and internationally.

Enya fused traditional Irish elements with New Age to create a unique sound which has made her Ireland's second biggest-selling act of all time.

The Irish musician Enya has been inspired by the works of Parrish.

Irish musician Enya has received four awards.

Notably, the Irish singer Enya renamed her Dublin castle Manderley Castle.

* " Exile " ( song ), a 1988 song by Irish singer Enya

Four-time award recipient Enya

From a young age, Enya appeared in many pantomimes onstage at Gweedore's local theatre and sang with her siblings in her mother's choir at St Mary's Catholic Church, Derrybeg.

The song " Boadicea ", also from this album, would later be sampled by The Fugees on their single " Ready or Not " ( 1996 ), causing a brief stir because the group neither sought permission from Enya nor gave her credit initially, and by Mario Winans, who did give her credit ( the Winans track, " I Don't Wanna Know " which features a rap by P. Diddy and is officially credited to all three artists, became Enya's highest charting single in the US, when it peaked at # 2 on the Hot 100 in 2004 ).

The asteroid 6433 Enya, discovered on 18 November 1978 by A. Mrkos at Klet, is named after her.

Examples of this include Janis Ian, Tracy Chapman, Rick Springfield, Golden Earring, Lenny Kravitz, Sugar Ray, Kylie Minogue ( although she did have a couple other minor hits at the beginning of her career in addition to her hugely successful cover of " The Loco-Motion "), Lifehouse, Jason Mraz, Train, Joe Jackson, Tyrese, INXS, Finger Eleven, Billy Ocean, Sara Bareilles and Enya.

* Ebudae ( Inner Hebrides ), United Kingdom ( also the title of another Enya song released at a later date ).

In addition, Enya is shown performing the theme song, " The Celts " at the start of each episode, and two episodes also include music videos of her performing the songs " I Want Tomorrow " and " Aldebaran.

The song entered the German Singles Chart at number one in 2002 and was performed by Enya on the 74th Academy Awards.

Thrilled at the prospect, Enya headed to New Zealand to see the preliminary edits of the film.

Enya performed her song at the Academy Awards on March 24, 2002.

In 2001, Enya recorded May It Be, which featured in the first installment of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Fellowship of the Ring, and was her second consecutive single to enter the German charts at number 1.

* " Orinoco Flow ", a 1988 song recorded by Enya at Orinoco Studios

It was also a response to a perceived snub at the Brit Awards, where SAW acts lost out to more " mature " acts such as Enya and Steve Winwood.