d'goya are Margaret Brennan and Deirdre MacQuaile, a female singer-songwriter duo and talented multi-instrumentalists. Deirdre plays acoustic guitar, keyboard and sings harmonies and Margaret is the lead vocalist. Early musical influences stem from whetting their appetites on folk choirs, The Indigo Girls, Del Amitri and Crowded House. Childhood friends that went their separate ways, Margaret became a soloist and well-known singer on the Dublin music scene, so much so that renowned Irish ballad writer Pete St. John wrote a song for her, which she sang on his Late Late Show Tribute. At the same time Deirdre played with a band in London with a major recording deal.
The story goes that in November, 1996, they traveled to Galway to meet a possible backing band and found that they were "stood up," which inspired them to write their first song, "Don't Stand Us Up", which is now part of their live repertoire. They haven't looked back since. In just a few years they have managed to write and record their debut album and sign a worldwide publishing deal with peermusic. They were featured at the Dranouter Festival in Belgium alongside Sinead O'Connor, The Chieftains, Altan, Maimee Coleman and Nomos. Residences on the live circuit followed: Whelans, The Da Club and The Mean Fiddler as well as support slots with Treehouse Diner and Ruban Gonzalez. They even reached the final heats of the Bacardi Hot Press Unplugged Competition. This band's lifespan crammed into such a short space of time gives you an idea of their talent and drive.
