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The Memory of Trees is the fourth studio album by Irish singer, songwriter, and musician Enya, released on 20 November 1995 by WEA. After travelling worldwide to promote her previous album Shepherd Moons (1991), and contributing to film soundtracks, Enya took a short break before she started writing and recording a new album in 1993 with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. The album is Enya's first to be recorded entirely in Ireland, and covers themes that include Irish and Druid mythology, the idea of one's home, journeys, religion, dreams, and love. Enya continues to display her sound of multi tracked vocals with keyboards and elements of Celtic and new age music, though Enya does not consider her music to be in the latter genre. She sings in English, Irish, Latin, and Spanish. The Memory of Trees received mostly positive reviews from music critics. It became a worldwide commercial success, reaching number five in the United Kingdom and number nine on the Billboard 200 in the United States. In 2000, it was certified multi platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling three million copies. Two tracks were released as singles; "Anywhere Is" in November 1995, which reached number seven in the United Kingdom, followed by "On My Way Home" in November 1996, which peaked at number twenty six. Enya supported the album with a promotional tour that included several interviews and televised performances. The Memory of Trees won Enya her second Grammy Award for Best New Age Album in 1997. It was remastered for a Japanese release with bonus tracks in 2009, and became available on vinyl in 2016.

After travelling worldwide since late 1991 to promote her previous album Shepherd Moons (1991), and working for the soundtrack to the romantic adventure drama film Far and Away (1992), the 31 year old Enya took a break from music that lasted for approximately one year. She spent most of the time with her family, trying "to unwind", and visiting different places around the world to provide further inspiration for her songwriting. She returned to work in 1993 when she felt it was the right time to start writing and recording a new studio album with her longtime recording partners, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and his wife, lyricist Roma Ryan. Enya's pace and hours of working in the studio increased during the last eight months of recording, waking up at seven or eight in the morning and working until late in order to "give as much as I could" on the album. Enya later said she "gave 100 per cent" on it. Nicky was pleased to have the album complete due to the length of time it took to record. He reasoned this down to the three being "the worst enemies in deciding when a piece is finished listener fatigue sets in and we're unable to judge whether the work's ready." Enya is depicted as the crying young king sitting on his throne in a costume designed by English fashion designer Elizabeth Emanuel.

Enya is the sole composer of the music on The Memory of Trees and co arranged them with Nicky. When the title was agreed upon, Enya proceeded to write the song around two weeks later, which was an unusual way of working as the melody had always come first, followed by its title and lyrics. Enya and the Ryans thought the songs needed further work but Dickens expressed his satisfaction, "Most tracks sounded absolutely superb. They were ready." "Pax Deorum" is Latin for "Peace of the Gods" and features Enya playing the cello and violin, instruments that she had not fully learnt but can play basic chords that to her sounded effective when Nicky layered them in the studio with her synthesisers. "From Where I Am" is the album's second of three instrumental tracks on the album. Enya subsequently wrote a melody and visited the Silent Valley with Nicky, who suggested that she record the song's lead vocal on location. To Enya, "On My Way Home" is about "those wonderful memories and fond moments that you have when you're on your way home", and wished to present a positive feel in the chorus.

To promote the album, Warner Music organised a pre release event in London for journalists and broadcasters on the Silver Barracuda, a pleasure boat that travelled from Charing Cross to Greenwich, where a reception was held at Queen's House complete with a fireworks display. The following day, Enya held a private conference for the press. A limited edition promotional box set was released, of which 1,001 copies were produced, which included the album on CD and cassette with a 14 page booklet containing notes and a foreword autographed by Roma Ryan and printed lyrics. The Memory of Trees was released on 20 November 1995 by WEA in the United Kingdom and on 5 December 1995 by Reprise Records in the United States. In the United States, The Memory of Trees peaked at number 9 on the Billboard 200, her highest charting album in the country at the time of release, during a 66 week stay on the chart. On the Billboard New Age Albums chart, the album became Enya's second consecutive number one during a 104 week stay. To further promote the album, Enya and Nicky travelled worldwide on a media tour that covered sixteen countries and included interviews, guest appearances, and lip sync performances of "Anywhere Is". The album became an international commercial success. In December 1995, it was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for 300,000 copies sold in the United Kingdom. In August 1996, it reached double platinum for 600,000 copies sold. Its greatest success was in the United States where in February 1996, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling one million copies. In the following six months, a further one million copies were sold. In March 2000, The Memory of Trees was certified triple platinum for selling three million. In November 2008, Billboard reported the album had sold 2,397,724 copies in the United States according to figures tracked by Nielsen SoundScan. Enya released a single from The Memory of Trees in 1995 and 1996. "Anywhere Is" was the lead single, released in November 1995. It became her second highest charting single in the United Kingdom, reaching a peak of number 7 during its 13 week stay on the chart. A music video for the song was directed by David Scheinmann, who had previous worked with Enya on the reissue of Enya and her other promotional videos. On 11 November 2016, Reprise Records put the album out on vinyl for the first time.

Of frequent discussion was how little Enya's sound and style changed. Some critics welcomed Enya continuing the formula, Jody Callahan of The Cincinnati Post exclaiming The Memory of Trees was "another Enya record, with all the myth and warmth that implies", and
The Los Angeles Timess Don Heckman writing the style would still appeal to Enya's fans. Rolling Stone reporter Elysa Gardner picked out "China Roses" as a track that reminded her of the "tranquil radiance" of "Caribbean Blue" from Shepherd Moons, with "Once You Had Gold" sounding "equally tender, with a reassuring lyric and all the prettiness of a Christmas carol". The "technical proficiency and the mood sustaining qualities" of the music, that Heckman called "mysterious" and "rich" coupled with Enya's "angelic, folk soprano" and "nostalgic" piano, flow to make a seamless album that "almost demands that the album be heard in its entirety". Joyce praised her vocals and Nicky Ryan's production as forming a "cascading shower of harmonies". Jim Sullivan of The Boston Globe thought she and the Ryans produce "serene ambience" and "new age music with subtlety and smarts".