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 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 ".

Enya was awarded the World's Best-Selling Irish Act award at the World Music Awards in London on 19 November 2006.

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.

The first of these, also on the subject of Celtic culture, was broadcast in the mid-1990s, much to the confusion of Enya fans hoping to see the original series.

Enya recorded a song entitled " Boadicea " for her 1987 LP Enya.

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.

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 ).

Enya achieved a breakthrough in her career in 1988 with the album Watermark, which featured the hit song " Orinoco Flow " ( sometimes incorrectly known as " Sail Away ").

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

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

The ride inspired the Beatles song of the same name and is also mentioned in the songs " Tonight, Tonight, Tonight " from Genesis, " Ball and Chain " by XTC, " Fade In-Out " by Oasis, " Fat Gal " by Merle Travis, " Wild Child " by Enya, " American Pie " by Don McLean, " Bloodbath in Paradise " by Ozzy Osbourne, and " Black Curtains " by Megadeth.

*" Book of Days " ( song ), a 1992 single by Enya

Irish singer Enya contributed song " May it Be " for The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2001 ) movie soundtrack.

* " Dreams ", a song by Enya from the British motion picture The Frog Prince

This song does not appear in Tolkien's writings ; it was composed and sung by Enya, the lyrics were written by Roma Ryan.

The song was conducted by Howard Shore, and performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with Enya.

*" Morning Glory ", a 1988 song by Enya

" Orinoco Flow ", also known as " Orinoco Flow ( Sail Away )", is a 1988 song written and recorded by the Irish singer Enya.

* Orinoco River, Venezuela ( the London studio where the song was recorded was also called " Orinoco " and, due to the title of the song, Enya became known in Venezuela ).

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

" Storms in Africa " is a song by the Irish singer Enya, featured on her 1988 album Watermark.

The song was included on the soundtrack for the Peter Weir film Green Card ( 1990 ) along with " River " and " Watermark ", both also from the same Enya album.

A sign for Leo's Tavern in Gweedore, which reads " The home of Clannad & Enya "

In 1982, shortly before Clannad became internationally renowned for " Theme From Harry's Game ", producer and manager Nicky Ryan left the group and Enya joined him to start her own solo career.

Enya then formed her own recording studio, named " Aigle ", which is French for " eagle ".

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.

Enya won an Echo Award for best selling international single in Germany of 2001, and received a nomination for best selling album.

As a result, Enya spent an estimated € 250, 000 on security measures for her home, Manderley Castle in Killiney.

** Nicky Ryan ( engineer & producer ) & Enya ( engineer & artist ) for A Day Without Rain

The Fugees have continuously thanked and praised Enya for her deep understanding of the situation, for example in the liner notes for The Score.

McKennitt is compared to Enya, but McKennitt's music is more grounded in traditional and classical invocations, using literary works as sources of lyrics and springboards for interpretation such as " The Lady of Shalott " by Lord Tennyson, " Prospero's Speech " ( the final soliloquy in William Shakespeare's The Tempest ), " Snow " by Archibald Lampman, " Dark Night of the Soul " by St. John of the Cross, Dante's Inferno, William Blake's " Lullaby ", Yeats ' " The Stolen Child ", " The English Ladye and the Knight " by Sir Walter Scott and " The Highwayman " by Alfred Noyes.

** Enya for The Memory of Trees