Roma Ryan
| Roma Ryan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Roma Shane Ryan |
| Born | 20 January Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK |
| Genres | New-age, Celtic, world |
| Occupation(s) | Lyricist, poet, writer |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Labels | WEA, Warner Music UK, Warner Bros. Records UK, Reprise, Geffen |
| Associated acts | Enya |
| Website | romaryan |
Roma Shane Ryan (born 20 January in Belfast) is a Northern Irish writer, poet, and lyricist, currently living in Artane, Ireland, with her husband Nicky.
Ryan is the primary lyricist for the singer Enya, who has stated that the importance of Roma's and Nicky's contributions are such that without them, "Enya" would not exist.
Roma and Nicky Ryan met Enya in 1978; Nicky was managing Enya's family's band Clannad. Enya had just finished secondary school when Nicky Ryan rang her, asking if she would become a member of the group. The Ryans and Enya left Clannad several years later to focus on their own musical careers. Enya originally wrote instrumental melodies. Roma found these melodies "very visual" and suited to film work; she began to write lyrics to them.
Ryan's lyrics for Enya have won Grammy Awards; the song "May It Be" for the The Lord of the Rings film The Fellowship of the Ring was nominated for an Oscar.
Her lyrics can be heard in films such as The Frog Prince (1984), Green Card (1990), L.A. Story (1991), Toys (1992), Cry, the Beloved Country (1995), and Calmi Cuori Appassionati (2001), all of which feature Enya's music.
In 2005, Ryan created a new language known as Loxian, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's Elvish language, for Enya's album Amarantine. This language can be heard on three tracks from "Amarantine": "Less Than a Pearl", "The River Sings" and "Water Shows the Hidden Heart". Enya has mentioned in interviews that Roma developed Loxian while writing lyrics for the track "Water Shows the Hidden Heart"; she and Enya had attempted to write lyrics for the track in Latin, Gaelic and English and been disappointed with the results. The first Loxian phrase created by Roma—"Syoombraaya"—is the title of that track ("Water Shows the Hidden Heart").
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