Enya Stuns Fans in First Public Appearance in Eight Years

Enya has left fans stunned as she recently made her first public appearance in eight years.

The Irish singer-songwriter, 64, known for her reclusive lifestyle, enjoyed a rare night out earlier this month as she was snapped at a wedding in Donegal, northwest Ireland.

The Orinoco Flow hitmaker smiled for the photo as she posed alongside her sister Moya Brennan, brother-in-law Tim Jarvis and members of the Irish dance group, Donegal Dancers.

Dressed up for the nuptials at Drumhalla House, Enya looked fabulous in a black lace top and chic white midi skirt which she teamed with black heels and silver jewellery.

The performer, who ventured out of the Dublin castle she shares with her cats, wore her raven locks in a chic fringed style and highlighted her features with a subtle palette of make-up. 

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The image was shared to the Donegal Dancer’s official Facebook page, as well as on Reddit, with fans quick to comment on how great Enya looked.

They penned: ‘She looks great after another decade! And her outfit, of course, is totally enya coded.’

‘Good to see our Enya. Moya is looking great too.’

‘Omg, I’m so happy to see her finally.’

‘Wow she looks great! She gained a bit of weight and it really suits her. Makes her look younger.’

‘She looks so lovely here, but girl drop the mixtape already omg it’s been 10 years.’

Enya’s last public appearance was at the 2017 Grammy Awards. 

The performer has maintained a reclusive existence since she shot to super-stardom following the release of her global hit Orinoco Flow (Sail Away) in 1988.

Enya, who is renowned for her ethereal vocals, lives in the impressive Ayesha Castle in Killiney, south Dublin, which boasts stunning views of the Irish Sea.

She purchased the building for £2.5 million in 1997 and currently lives alone with only her cats for company.

Her next door neighbour is U2 frontman Bono and in a rare televised appearance on This Morning in 2016 she joked that the rocker popped round to borrow sugar.

She previously told The Guardian: ‘It’s very castle on the exterior, but it’s very much a home inside. It’s actually a very small castle and I fell in love with it’

Her unique brand of music is created in collaboration with producer Nicky Ryan, 67, and his lyricist wife Roma.

The Irish songstress is her country’s best-selling solo artist and has released nine studio albums, selling an estimated 75-80 million records worldwide.

She’s recorded in 10 different languages including in Lord of the Rings creator JRR Tolkien’s Sindarin and Quenya, as well as a language created by herself and her songwriters called Loxian.

The star’s success is an anomaly in an industry where constant touring, heavy radio play and public appearances are usually required to return strong record sales.

An industry insider told The Sun: ‘Throughout the music business there’s no one else who is so successful about whom so little is known. She doesn’t socialise, she’s barely seen out of the house, there aren’t any clues in her lyrics about her life.’ 

However, she has vehemently defended her lifestyle and approach to music.

‘It’s not a hanging offence not wanting to go to nightclubs,’ said the singer. ‘What happened to choice? My choice is that after a certain amount of promotion, I feel it gets very false and then I’m not interested. 

‘When the album has been out for, say, 10 months, people will start focusing on me and I really don’t want that. I love the music to be known, but I’m not after fame for myself.’

She told The Independent that she had ‘never tried to create an enigma’ but has always been an independent person. 

 Her passion for music has had an impact on her love-life, although music is what’s most important to her.

She previously said: ‘…there have been… relationships. It’s quite hard to have someone accept that – well, not that they are second to the music, but that I do need a certain amount of space for it. And even though the person will understand that at the beginning, there is something like jealousy towards the music after a while.’  

Hailing from a musical family, Enya became a member of the Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 but left just two years later to pursue a solo career.

 While each of her records through the nineties sold well, she had a boost in sales following the 9/11 terror attacks when her song Only Time, from her album A Day Without Rain (2000), was used by CNN to accompany clips of shocking footage from the attacks.

Her distinguished career has seen her win four Grammy awards as well as an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe gong for May It Be, a song she wrote for Lord of the Ring: The Fellowship of the Ring.