Album version 3:59 Gaelic 1987/1992

Liner notes

Opened earth, spirits, incantations that earth may once again be fertile and thus ensure the future of the celts. Samhain, the greatest Celtic Festival, marked the beginning of their New Year – the 31st October – which is now celebrated as Hallow’een or All Souls night.

notes by Roma Ryan
The Celts album booklet, 1992

Quotes about the song

Enya: There’s a piece that I wrote called ‘Deireadh an Tuath’, which means "The End of the Tribe", or "The End of an Clann". And when I was reading about the Celts, I was reading about their beliefs in, in a lot of things like the magic of the sun, and the magic of the moon. And, um, the actual piece, the words in it are like " sí, sí an ghealach, mall san oíche". It means "the magic of the moon, stay with us". And, um, it ends off saying that all these beliefs in the magic is sort of dying.
TV Interview: To Go Beyond, BBC, 1987
enyabookofdays.com

Trivia

Except for the lyrics, Deireadh an Tuath and Dan y Dwr are almost identical.

Eclipse, first released as a b-side in 1989, is a reversed and modified version of the song.

Gaelic lyrics

‘Sí an ghealach,
mall san oíche.
‘Sí an ghrian.
Fán liom go Deo.

Hoireann is O Hi O Ho ra Ha.

‘Sí na Samhna,
tús na Bliain Ur.
‘Sí an crann marbh.
Deireadh an tuath.

Hoireann is O Ho O Ho ro Ho.
Hoireann is O Ho O Ho ro Ho.

Translation

It is the Moon,
late in the night.
It is the Sun.
Stay with me forever.

It is Halloween,
beginning of the New Year.
It’s the dead tree.
End of the tribe

lyrics by Roma Ryan
EMI Music Publishing Ltd, 1987