"I didn't expect such a huge reaction, but I knew I was doing something different to everything else that was happening at the time."

"I'm not one for walking the beaches humming a melody. I love the discipline of sitting in the studio, writing and listening. That is my domain."

"Fame and success are very different things."

"It's very homely, this castle. It doesn't have huge ballrooms. I didn't want a cold, cavernous place."

"I know every note in every song, the whole history of it, even parts that were there and are gone."

"I have had death threats from people with fixations."

"I am privileged to do a job I love to do. I would never change any moment from my life."

"The music sold itself before anybody knew who I was."

"When making music I sink myself into the process as deeply as I can and forget all of the success."

"I don't have pets, I have two guard dogs; and I don't do my own shopping; it's a security thing."

"The personal appearances and red carpet events are very glitzy, but it's a bit false."

"When I was growing up, I'd be in the choir. My mum was the organist in the church, so I'd sing in the church."

"The writing of a melody is an emotional moment; success doesn't make it easy."

"My core beliefs revolve around the idea that we should live to the best of our abilities-we should live and let live."

"It wasn't so long ago that it was not popular to speak Gaelic in Ireland because the areas that Gaelic is spoken in were much poorer areas."

"Over in the UK, the music press can be brutal. They can say wonderful things about you one week, and the next week, you're in the can."

"As with anything creative, change is inevitable."

"I am not reclusive. I just have a private life."

"Singing in Gaelic is very, very natural to do. I think lends itself very much so to being sung."

"The success of Watermark surprised me. I never thought of music as something commercial; it was something very personal to me."

"I don't need a man in my life."

"The Druids held the trees as very sacred."

"I told the record company I didn't feel the need to be at red-carpet events. I wanted a career. But I wanted to keep myself intact as a person."

"The ocean is a central image. It is the symbolism of a great journey."

"Writing music on your own makes you think a lot about your life. Who are you? Would you change anything about yourself? This is where it comes from."

"With my music, I can express myself so much. A lot of the fans can sense that I'm relating to them something that's quite personal."

"People tend to think that because I need all this time on my own in the studio, that I need time on my own, period. And that's not really true."

"I use my voice as an instrument."

"I could have been more famous if I did all the glitzy things, but celebrity always seemed so unnecessary."

"My first language is Gaelic."

"I do promotion when it is necessary, but I always want to get back to the music."

"I am really a very shy person. If I appear, it is because of the music, not because I want to be seen."

"There is no formula to it. Writing every song is a little journey. The first note has to lift you."

"I enjoyed the two years I was with Clannad. I enjoyed touring. We toured a lot in Europe."

"The minuses of celebrity include having to live with security and the knowledge that you may be stalked."