Leo's Tavern ( ga, Tábhairne Leo) is a restaurant and pub in the Donegal

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...

, known as the home of music artists

Clannad Clannad () is an Irish band formed in 1970 in Gweedore, County Donegal by siblings Ciarán, Pól, and Moya Brennan and their twin uncles Noel and Pádraig Duggan. They have adopted various musical styles throughout their history, including ...

Enya Enya Patricia Brennan (; ga, Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961), known professionally by the mononym Enya, is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo arti ...

and

Moya Brennan Moya Brennan (born Máire Philomena Ní Bhraonáin on 4 August 1952), also known as Máire Brennan, is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, harpist, and philanthropist. She is the sister of the musical artist known as Enya. She began performing pr ...

.Leo's Tavern
Official website The pub opened in 1968 and held

Irish traditional music session Irish traditional music sessions are mostly informal gatherings at which people play Irish traditional music. The Irish language word for "session" is ''seisiún''. This article discusses tune-playing, although "session" can also refer to a singin ...

s nightly, becoming the musical starting block for the children of Leo Brennan, the pub's founder.

History

Origins and development

At the end of Ireland's showband era, musician Leo Ó Braonáin settled with his wife Máire "Baba", opening Tábhairne Leo in 1968. The pub became a gathering place for musicians and singers to take part in Irish traditional music sessions. While working shifts behind the bar, Leo's children Máire (Moya),

Ciarán Ciarán ( Irish spelling) or Ciaran (Scottish Gaelic spelling) is a traditionally male given name of Irish origin. It means "little dark one" or "little dark-haired one", produced by appending a diminutive suffix to ''ciar'' ("black", "dark ...

, Pól Ó Braonáin, Noel, and Pádraig Ó Dúgáin would accompany their father on stage to tell old Irish stories, or ''seanchas'', to the locals. While touring in later years as Celtic/

Folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

band

, the siblings, their uncles, and their younger siblings Brídín,

Eithne Eithne is a female personal name of Irish origin, meaning "kernel" or "grain". Other spellings and earlier forms include Ethnea, Ethlend, Ethnen, Ethlenn, Ethnenn, Eithene, Ethne, Aithne, Enya, Ena, Edna, Etney, Eithnenn, Eithlenn, Eithna, Ethni ...

(Enya), Olive, and Deirdre would perform. Clannadleos

The pub has also hosted guests and performers such as

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended ...

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

Paul Brady Paul Joseph Brady (born 19 May 1947) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician from Strabane, Northern Ireland. His work straddles folk and pop. He was interested in a wide variety of music from an early age. Initially popular for playing ...

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Ireland, Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first ...

, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and

Mary Black Mary Black (born 23 May 1955) is an Irish folk singer. She is well known as an interpreter of both traditional folk and modern material which has made her a major recording artist in her native Ireland. Background Mary Black was born into a m ...

. Tour buses of tourists began to visit the pub to hear Leo sing and tell stories. The pub was renovated in 2002, and now also has a restaurant and features Gold, Platinum and Diamond discs and memorabilia associated with Clannad, Moya and Enya.

Concerts

The tavern was celebrated during the 2005 Errigal Arts Festival, at which Leo and Baba Brennan were awarded the Freedom of Donegal by

Donegal County Council Donegal County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún na nGall) is the authority responsible for local government in County Donegal, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hou ...

. The ceremony, held on 14 July 2005, was preceded by a series of concerts called ''Oidhreacht'' ( Irish for ''Legacy''). These concerts featured Leo and Baba's daughters performing at St. Mary's Church in Derrybeg. A

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

concert was also held, with some of these events being broadcast on TG4 and

RTÉ Television RTÉ Television is a department of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), the Republic of Ireland's State media, state controlled national broadcaster. Its first channel was Teilifís Éireann, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961. Since th ...

. Leo's Tavern marked its 40th anniversary in 2008 and held a three-day celebration. A concert was held, featuring music from Leo Brennan,

, Brídín Brennan, Deirdre Brennan, Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and

Manus Lunny Manus Lunny (born 1962) is an Irish producer and multi-instrumentalist from County Donegal, Ireland, best known as a member of Celtic supergroup Capercaillie. He is the brother of multi-instrumentalist and producer Dónal Lunny. Leo Brennan died on 22 June 2016, aged 90.

References

External links

Official site
{{Enya Buildings and structures in Gweedore Culture in Gweedore Music venues in the Republic of Ireland Pubs in the Republic of Ireland Restaurants in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in County Donegal Restaurants established in 1968 1968 establishments in Ireland