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Daniel Does America


Published Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 4:10 PM
Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6:09 PM

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Daniel O'Donnell has captivated a generation of Irish and American fans with his melodic voice and his homespun charm. This month he's touring the U.S. and bringing the singing talent that made him famous to an ever-growing fan base. CAHIR O'DOHERTY talks to an Irish legend about his career, his marriage and the road ahead.

DANIEL Francis Noel O'Donnell was born in Dungloe, Co. Donegal in 1961, and though he's traveled far and wide since then the truth is that he's never really left home.

A proud Donegal man, it's his homespun charm and lack of pretension that are at the root of his popularity. Of course there's the matter of his singing voice, too. Although he's certainly no threat to the likes of Pavarotti, there's no doubt he knows how to carry a tune.

But, to hear his fans tell it, there's much more to his appeal than that. He's the sort of man you could take him home to your mother because you know he'll always be respectful and well dressed. The real secret of Daniel's appeal is the suspicion that he'll never let you down.

It's a clich that country and western singers usually have impoverished childhoods, but Daniel really did come from humble beginnings. Growing up in a charming but rustic home in Donegal with a tin hut outhouse out back, he had the same kind of childhood as some of country music's royalty with one important distinction - he was happy.

The only tragedy in his young life was the sudden death of his father Francie when Daniel was six, the youngest in the family. Francie had a fatal heart attack at the age of 49, and from then on his mother Julia became head of the house. A formidable Donegal woman, she shouldered the burden without complaining, and she saw to it that they never wanted for anything.

Nowadays her youngest child has become a multi-millionaire whose records and DVDs sell by the truckload, and his concert tours sell out as soon as they're announced.

This week Daniel's in Fresno, California where he spoke by telephone to the Irish Voice. Asked how the tour is progressing he started with a list of some of the cities he's visited or will visit shortly.

Says O'Donnell, "We've been to Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Pasadena and Fresno. We'll go to Chicago from here, then Ottawa, Toronto, Newfoundland, Halifax, Cleveland and other places. It's a fair old trek from Kincasslagh, Co. Donegal."

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