Each person has their own favourite part of the Christmas celebrations. Some people love the food, while for others, the decorations bring joy and colour to a dark, cold month. For Daniel O’Donnell, the best part is Christmas Mass.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Mr O’Donnell said he loves “the services at Christmas. I love going to Mass. I sing with the choir – I’ve done that from a very young age. Anytime I’m at home for Christmas, I get to sing in the choir and maybe a solo as well, which is lovely.”
Christmas at home, he said, is one of his favourite things. “The whole atmosphere… Everybody knows everybody, there’s a great warmth from being with your own people.” He recalled some Christmases when they spent abroad, “in the sun”, but for him, there’s nothing like “putting on the fire and just being at home and feeling that community feel.” This year, their Christmas celebration is at home in Donegal, with his stepchildren and grandchildren joining for the celebrations.
Now and Then
Mr O’Donnell has just finished his latest album tour. His 47th album, Now and Then, was released in October, and the tour had shows in the US and the UK. His last show was a Christmas Gospel in St Mary’s Church Kincasslagh, Co. Donegal, on December 21, and proceeds for that show were donated to support the church and local school, Scoil Mhuire, Belcruit.
Now and Then is “a mixture of older songs, covers of older songs and some original ones,” he explained. “The older songs are ones I just like myself. I have a sort of list of songs that I think maybe someday I’ll record.”
Having recorded an album every year since 1984, it’s hard for him to choose which one is the best. “I don’t know if I have a favourite album. I suppose you always think that the one that’s out now, where you are at the time,” is the best.
He believes he has been “blessed to get to do so much and record so much.” For Mr O’Donnell, the cover songs are as important as the originals in making an album, “but I think the original songs allow you to grow.” He is “very happy” with how Now and Then turned out.
In those days, the church was very important. We went to everything that was on in the church”
A practising Catholic, Mr O’Donnell told The Irish Catholic how his faith came to be such an important part of his life. “I was brought up in Donegal, in a little village called Kincasslagh in the 60s. In those days, the church was very important. We went to everything that was on in the church,” he recalled. “October devotions, the May devotions, anything that was on, we were there.”
Sometimes, people are “brought up that way”, but distance themselves from their faith later in life and never come back. That was not the case with him: “I just held on to it even when I started travelling.” He remembers how he “felt the connection with going to Mass” and how it “was good for me.”
wedding vows renewal at their home in 2023.
“When you’re younger, you go to Mass because you have to go. But I realised after a period of being away, [that] I didn’t have to go, but I needed to go for myself. And I still like to go to Mass whenever I can. If I’m away somewhere that I don’t get to Mass, I generally tune into our local Mass at home, which is great,” he explained.
His faith also plays a role in his personal traditions before concerts. “I say a wee prayer, and I always bless myself before I go out, hoping that I get on all right,” and he also says “the Fr Rookey Miracle Prayer usually before I go on stage.”
The Christmas show last weekend was his last one before an extended break. He decided to take some time “to recharge,” he said. Another reason for taking a break is that he “had a lot of allergies in the past couple of years,” so he will take time to “sort that out medically.”
However, he will not leave 100% of his work responsibilities next year. “I’ll do the Opry shows for TG4”, he said. “And hopefully the Relay for Life around May or June”. Mr O’Donnell and his wife are both patrons to ‘Relay for Life’.
Mr O’Donnell is also involved with the Gertrude Byrne All-Star Irish cruise, where he will perform in September. “I’m also booked for that for August 2027. As well as that, I’m involved with the Mary from Dungloe Festival.”
Focus
He explained he will be doing a few things here and there, but his main focus will be to “figure out” his allergies and rest. “We’ll have a lot of time with the family. It’ll be a very relaxed period for me.” After the ‘sabbatical’, Mr O’Donnell will not tour as much anymore. “I’ll do some shows, but not as many – one after the other.”
Being on the road for 45 years, he feels “very fortunate” to be able to follow a career he wanted as a teenager. “I got to do it at a very successful level. I never thought that I would travel so much, that I would have almost 50 albums. I mean, who would have thought that when I started out? … I’ve been very lucky in my life.”
His luck is not only related to his career. “I have Majella and the children, the grandchildren… I’ve had more than my share of good fortune.” He recalls the family has faced death, “but there’s no family that doesn’t have that,” and that illness “is part of life… All in all, we’ve been very lucky.”
Sending a message to all boys and girls who dream of pursuing a music career, Mr O’Donnell said, “I would just maybe [tell them] to have the confidence. Be more confident in yourself; that’s difficult when you’re young. But I would just say to them, boy or girl, to just be yourself, sing the way you can sing. Don’t try to be like anybody else, and always remember that people are important; just treat people well. No matter what you have in life, if you don’t have people, you have nothing.”
his family during
Christmas 2024
