The Duggans () were an Irish musical duo from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

, Ireland. They were founder members of the Irish folk group

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

Early life

Twin brothers Noel Duggan and Pádraig (Patrick) Duggan () were born on 23 January 1949 in

Gweedore Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo and Bloody For ...

, County Donegal, to Maire and Aodh Ó Dúgáin . They were the youngest in a family of seven. The brothers learned to speak Gaelic as their first language and acted on stage with a local theatre group from an early age. They took piano lessons, then learned to play guitar in their early teens. Both trained on a radio officers' course as preparation for going to sea, but chose music instead. They played in the Slieve Foy Band, an Irish showband whose members included their elder sister Baba and her husband Leo Brennan, who bought a pub, Ionad Jack in the village of Meenaleck, which they helped to renovate and reopen as Tabhairne Leo ( Leo's Tavern). The pub became the home of informal music sessions with a group of family members, hosting live music every night, and the Duggan brothers became mainstays of the sessions. Their early repertoire consisted of American country numbers and arrangements of contemporary songs by artists such as Joni Mitchel and the Beatles, until their mother suggested that they should sing in Gaelic. The brothers used a

tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...

to collect old Irish songs from elderly people in their village and on

Tory Island Tory Island, or simply Tory, is an island 14.5 kilometres (7+3⁄4 nautical miles) off the north-west coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. It is officially known by its Iris ...

, ten miles off the coast of Donegal, the place of origin of the Duggan family, "before they were lost forever".

Musical career

The brothers came to prominence in the 1970s with the folk group

. The band took a ten-year break after winning a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for their 1998 album '' Landmarks'' and the two brothers continued performing as The Duggans. They later toured extensively with their band Norland Wind. They were introduced to television by Tony MacMahon, and in 2005 released their first studio album ''

Rubicon The Rubicon (; ; ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just south of Cesena and north of Rimini. It was known as ''Fiumicino'' until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 BC. The ri ...

'', which featured

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 ...

Finbar Furey Finbar Feargal Furey (born 28 September 1946) is a multi-instrumental Irish traditional music, Irish folk musician, best known for the band he formed with his brothers, The Fureys. The Fureys were formed in Ballyfermot, Dublin, where they grew u ...

and Órla Fallon among others. ''Rubicon'' was met with critical acclaim and sold well throughout Ireland. The brothers played again as part of Clannad after the band reformed in 2007, following a family gathering in Leo's Tavern to celebrate their sister's 50th birthday.

Rubicon

In 2005, the Duggans recorded their début studio album, consisting of traditional songs and ballads in the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

along with self-penned songs in English. The album featured long-time collaborators Thomas Loefke and Kerstin Blodig of Norland Wind,

, Brídín Brennan and Celtic Woman's Órla Fallon.

Deaths

Pádraig died in Dublin on 9 August 2016, at the age of 67. Noel died in Donegal on 15 October 2022, at the age of 73.

Discography

Albums

* ''

'' (2005)

As part of Clannad

Compilations

*''Irish Ballads'' (various artists – 2005)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Duggans Clannad members Irish Celtic music groups Irish folk musical groups Musical groups from County Donegal Irish twins Sibling musical duos Musical groups established in 2004 Musical groups disestablished in 2016 2004 establishments in Ireland 2016 disestablishments in Ireland 2000s in Irish music 2010s in Irish music