| Daniel O'Donnell | |
|---|---|
O'Donnell in concert |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell |
| Also known as | 'Wee Daniel'[1] |
| Born | 12 December 1961 Kincasslagh, County Donegal, Ireland |
| Genres | Country, easy listening |
| Occupations | Singer–songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Associated acts | Majella O'Donnell, Margo, Mary Duff |
| Website | www.danielodonnell.org |
Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell (born 12 December 1961)[2] is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist.[3] O'Donnell came to public attention in 1983 and has since become a household name in Ireland and the UK. He has also had considerable success in the US.[4] He is known for his close relationship with his fanbase, and his charismatic[5] and engaging stage presence.[5] His music has been described as a mix of country and Irish folk, and he has sold over ten million records to date.[6][7]
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O'Donnell was born and brought up in the village of Kincasslagh, in the Rosses region of County Donegal. He grew up as the youngest of a Roman Catholic family, with his parents Julia (née McGonagle born 1919)[8] and Francis O'Donnell and his siblings: John (the eldest), Margaret (Margo), Kathleen, and James. He has described his upbringing as mostly happy, with the exception of the death of his father after a heart attack when O'Donnell was just six years old.
During his school years, O'Donnell considered pursuing a career in banking. Despite this, a career in music was also always a possibility. As a youngster O'Donnell performed in the local religious choir. In 1980, he went to Galway to purusue Business Studies, however, he never settled down and by Christmas he was in his sister Margo's band. Margo had already forged a successful career in Ireland.
Not getting enough opportunities to perform solos with the band, in 1983 O'Donnell decided to record his own record. On 9 February 1983 he recorded his first single, Johnny McCauley's "My Donegal Shore", with £1,200 of his own money, selling all the copies himself. Later that year, he formed his own musical group, Country Fever. After the group disbanded, he formed The Grassroots. In 1985, the manager of the Ritz label, Mick Clerkin, saw him perform, and introduced him to Sean Reilly, who remains as his manager to this day.
Under the management of Reilly, O'Donnell started to sell concerts out in England on a regular basis. According to O'Donnell, by January, 1992, he had hit rock bottom with exhaustion. After a three month recovery break, he returned to the stage, this time at the Point Theatre, Dublin.[9]
By the mid-1990s, O'Donnell had become a household name across Ireland and Great Britain. He appeared on popular television shows in both countries, and won various awards. Among the accolades, O'Donnell was named Donegal Person of the Year in 1989, which he still rates as the best award. He was given the Irish Entertainer of the Year award in 1989, 1992 and 1996. O'Donnell's first chart hit single in the UK was in 1992 with "I Just Want to Dance With You" (later covered by George Strait). This also led to his first ever appearance on Top of the Pops.
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 songstress Mary Duff, who regularly tours with O'Donnell.
In 2002, he was awarded an Honorary (due to his Irish citizenship) MBE for his services to the music industry. He has had twenty UK Top 40 albums as well as fifteen Top 40 singles and has sold 10 million records to date. O'Donnell garnered considerable success in North America, when he starred in seven concert specials on public television stations (PBS) in the US. He has charted 18 albums in the Top 20 of the US Billboard's World Music Album Chart and also has had several entries in the Independent Albums Chart too. [10] In 2011, O'Donnell became the first artist to have an album in the UK charts for 24 consecutive weeks.[11] He was afforded an RTÉ Christmas Day special, Daniel at 50, in 2011 to mark his 50th birthday.[12]
O'Donnell was married for the first time, aged 40, on 4 November 2002, to 41-year-old divorcée Majella McLennan from Thurles,[13] whom he met on holiday in Tenerife three years previously. McLennan was married before,[14] although McLennan's previous marriage, by which she has two children, had been annulled by the Catholic Church. The couple now live together in Meenbanad, County Donegal and also spend time at their second home in Tenerife.[15] Daniel is proficient in the Irish language and even presented a show for the Irish broadcaster TG4 wholly in Irish.[16]
O'Donnell is arguably better known for his gentle, soft-spoken personality and clean cut image, than for his music. Over the years he has attracted media attention and there have been many cultural references to the performer. 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 frequently satirised in Irish comedy because of a common supposition that his audience consists mainly of older rural women. The comedy show Bull Island and the radio sketch segment "Gift Grub" portrayed him in sketches frequently singing about his "mammy".[17] BBC Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles has parodied O'Donnell on numerous occasions.[18]
O'Donnell is known for his close relationship with his fans and has a meet-and-greet session after almost every concert. He hosts a huge tea party for his fans outside his Donegal home every year.[1] He has expressed a wish to appear in Coronation Street.[19]
O'Donnell 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 kids in Ireland for a period.[20]
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