​Daniel O’Donnell: I feel ‘very grateful’ at having a long career

The Donegal-born star, whose mother-in-law Marion Roche, sadly passed away earlier this week, star also has the commercial success to support his prestige having landed an album in the top 40 of the UK albums chart every year since 1991.

Despite reaching these heights, he remains steadfast to his Irish humility.

“I feel very grateful that I’ve been allowed to have the career that I have,” he says with complete sincerity.

“I’ve done something all my life that I’ve enjoyed so much, and not many people can say that about what they do for work. I don’t even call it work but that’s what I suppose it is to other people.

“So I feel very blessed in that respect, that I got that opportunity, and that’s down to the audience really, and the people who have followed me.”

O’Donnell, affectionately known as Wee Daniel by his legion of fans, hands all the praise to those who have supported him throughout his career.

However, things nearly ended up very differently for O’Donnell as he initially tried his hand at a business studies course but switched track when he joined the band of his older sister Margaret, known by her professional name Margo.

He later left the group to pursue a solo career, releasing his first album The Boy From Donegal in 1984, but it took a number of years of hard graft before he gained traction.

His chart breakthrough came in the form of 1988’s From The Heart and he has been on a roll since, releasing more than 50 albums which venture into a range of genres from Irish folk to country music as well as gospel and renditions of standards from the 1950s and 60s.

He will be back on the road in October for the tour of his forthcoming album – How Lucky I Must Be – where his devoted fans will no doubt be returning in their droves.

“Some people that come to the shows, I first met them probably 35 years ago, which is amazing,” the 61-year-old muses.

“And then some people only come to one show, maybe a year, but I’ve met them all down through the years so I would know them to see.

“It’s lovely when you go out on tour that you’re not just going out to see faces, you see them but you don’t know who they are, a lot of the people that I see in the audience, I actually know them from other shows.”

The new record features a selection of fresh material, with the title track written by Scottish singer Isla Grant, a song which O’Donnell says he loves.

Does he feel the new album will maintain his chart success streak? “It would be great if it did”, he admits.

“I suppose you can’t think that this will last forever but I’ve been very fortunate, I have a great following that every time we release an album, they’re out there.

“And now I suppose it’s different, it’s not so much buying in shops, they’re downloading and ordering online so it’s a different dynamic, but still, somehow they manage to get enough of them to get it in the charts, which is amazing.”

Even after more than 40 years as an entertainer, O’Donnell is still attracting new fans, some of whom have discovered him through his TikTok page which he launched last year.

He reveals: “We did shows in Ireland and there were younger people there who said, ‘Oh we’ve seen the TikToks and you should do more, they’re good fun’.

“And I think ‘Oh, yeah, maybe I will’ but I haven’t done anything since.”

“I struggle with social media to be honest,” the singer admits. “I never really got into it in a way that I suppose other people have.

“There’s lots of people in the office in the record company that do things for me, but I should do more, I suppose.”

During his lengthy career, O'Donnell has made friends with his childhood idols, including Cliff Richard and Loretta Lynn.

He also forged a close professional relationship with the Irish singer Mary Duff, who regularly tours with O'Donnell.

In Autumn 2015, he appeared on Strictly Come Dancing. He was eliminated third; in week four of the series.

In October 2015, Daniel and Majella starred in the first series of their TV programme Daniel and Majella's B&B Road Trip. That series aired on UTV but moved to RTÉ the following year.

The singer is frequently satirised in Irish and British comedy because of a common supposition that his audience consists mainly of older women.

He was parodied as celebrity singer Eoin McLove in the Father Ted episode Night of the Nearly Dead, as well as an episode of BBC sketch-show Chewin' the Fat, as an Irish singer named ‘Donald O'Daniel’.

O'Donnell is known for his close relationship with his fans and has a meet-and-greet session after almost every concert.

He used to host a massive tea party for his fans outside his Donegal home every year.

He has been involved in many charitable causes for many years, most notably in Romania. He has championed the Romanian Challenge Appeal, a charity that helps orphaned Romanian children re-establish themselves within society. He was involved in urging Irish families to home these young people in Ireland for a period

Throughout his career, O’Donnell has collaborated with many fellow Irish stars including a moment when the stars aligned and he worked alongside the late Sinead O’Connor on the Irish version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in a bid to raise money for their chosen charities.

“We were an unlikely pairing that really clicked very well on the night,” he recalls. “And she was lovely, she was a beautiful soul.

“And after the thing was over myself and herself and Brian Kennedy were dancing on the floor, that’s my memory of her, it was a happy memory of Sinead for me.”

Dublin-born O’Connor, who was propelled to international stardom in 1990 with her version of Nothing Compares 2 U and was known for taking fierce stances on social and political issues, died at her London home in July aged 56.

“She had a very difficult life and in the latter months of her life, the loss of her son, it’s beyond comprehension I suppose until somebody loses one of their children, I can’t imagine what it must be like,” O’Donnell, who has two stepchildren from his marriage to his wife Majella, reflects.

“Such a sad, sad loss to to the world of music but it’s her family that will miss her the most.”

And Daniel and wife Majella suffered their own personal loss earlier this week, when Majella’s mother, Marion, passed away.

Confirming the news on Facebook, DANIEL wrote, "It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Majella's mother Marion."

He continued, "Marion died last night surrounded by her family in St Mary’s nursing home in Galway.

"We will be forever grateful to the wonderful staff of St Mary's for the great care Marion received since going to live there and especially in her final days. The care and compassion shown to Marion and indeed her family was second to none.

"Our thanks also to all the staff at Galway University Hospital for their care of Marion during her recent stay there."

O'Donnell also wrote, "Marion was a beautiful person. Many who met her often referred to her as 'a lady’. I was blessed to have her as my mother in law."

The music star finished his post by saying, "She will be greatly missed by her family and many friends. May she rest in peace."

Daniel O’Donnell’s album How Lucky I Must Be is out on November 3 and his tour kicks off on October 13.