Celebrating Clannad at 50 with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra

A celebration of an incredible 50 years. Presenter John Kelly joins Clannad , the RTÉ CO and conductor David Brophy to mark a career that brought the band from the heart of the Donegal Gaeltacht to the top of the musical world, with awards including a Grammy, a Bafta and Billboards, and sales of 15 million albums. Clannad and the RTE CO perform landmark songs including Harry’s GameIn a Lifetime, I Will Find You and a Robin of Sherwood medley, all in new arrangements by Gavin Murphy. They reveal some of the stories behind their classics and give a sense of what it was like to be part of one of the biggest bands in the world, going from an icy van touring Germany to a limo whisking them from the airport to Top of the Pops to perform Harry’s Game, the first massive hit in the Irish language. 

John Kelly recalls:  

‘I couldn’t quite believe it when I was told that Clannad had been around for some 50 years. Looking back, they were one of the very first bands I ever saw and being immersed in their early records was, without question, a very formative experience. The music was at once both familiar and exotic. It was rooted and yet brilliantly experimental. It was both ancient and modern at the very same time, and it seemed especially significant that all this mysterious coolness was emanating from the Donegal Gaeltacht. It was such a pleasure to hear the music again, and a real privilege to sit down with band and talk about how it all happened; and after 50 years of Clannad – from Leo’s Tavern to the international stage – there’s plenty to talk about.’  

Retrospective – Clannad and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
Saturday 7 August, RTÉ One, 10.35pm