Dolly Parton, the beloved queen of country music, has died at the age of 80. The star often reflected on her special connection with Irish audiences, once telling RTE's "Late Late Show" that she and the Irish "speak the same language," tracing her own Smoky Mountain roots back to songs carried over from Ireland generations ago.
Dolly was the special guest star on RTÉ's Late Late Show in Ireland, back in 2020. The broadcast was dedicated to country music, and who better than Dolly to appear, especially as she was plugging her book, "Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics."
"A lot of people have the gift to write and be poetic, but there is something, I think it is why the Irish have always loved me and I have always loved them. We speak the same language,” Dolly told the then host Ryan Tubridy.
"They appreciate and know what it is like to live hard and to be brought up poor and I think that they know when I am singing it, I mean it.
"And I believe that they know that I feel that emotion that I have…I call it my Smokey Mountain DNA, but is from those old songs brought over from Ireland and England.”
Dolly also spoke about her long-lasting friendship with fellow country crooner Margo, one of Ireland’s most famous country and western names, who is also the sister of Daniel O’Donnell.
"She kind of became like family through the years, she made several trips over here and I was proud that she loved my little song ‘God’s Coloring Book’ and that I got to work with her on that,” Dolly revealed.
Here's a clip of Dolly Parton on RTÉ's Late Late Show:
*This column first appeared in the December 2020 edition of the Irish Voice newspaper, a former sister publication to IrishCentral. Updated in August 2026.
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