Daniel and Margo O’Donnell are Ireland’s answer to Donny and Marie Osmond – a brother and sister who share a passion for music and singing, and who have both found great success as a result of their talents.
“When Daniel said to me that he wanted to sing, I wasn’t happy at all,” Margo recalls. “I said to Mam I didn’t want him to, but if he was going to go down that road I wanted him with me. At least I could look out for him.”
And look out for him she did. Daniel’s career went from strength to strength, with hit songs dominating the Irish charts before he hit the big time in the UK in 1992 with I Just Want To Dance With You.
Since then Daniel, who’s been married to Majella McLennan for nearly 20 years, has been awarded an honorary MBE, won countless awards and even won some new fans after competing in 2015’s series of Strictly Come Dancing.
But it’s not all been plain sailing for the siblings. Losing their father when he was 49, battling alcohol addictions and career difficulties and, most recently, the loss of their mother have put strains on their relationship. Here, Margo and Daniel talk about their career highs and lows and why they’ll always be proud of each other...
Margo, what’s your first memory of Daniel?
Margo: The day he was born on 12 December 1961, in Dungloe Hospital, which was only six miles from us. Dad, who was working in Scotland at the time, was home for Christmas and he took myself, my brother John and my sister Kathleen to see our new baby. I was 10 years old and thought of him as my own doll, so I was delighted when Mam said I could help to look after him. I liked that responsibility and down through the years I knew there was something very special about that baby. There is still something special about the man he grew into. I remember thinking he brought us together because his birth brought Dad home early for Christmas – and I loved having him home with us.
It’s unusual for two people from one family to have dominated the Irish music scene for so long…
Daniel: You need to have the talent, but you have to have luck too. You see other singers from families where a few of them are talented but only one makes it.
Margo: One morning I was coming in from a dance when Daniel said to me, “God, Margaret, I could never do what you’re doing.” I didn’t want him to because I had a very rough ride – not in the music side but more to do with the business side. Then when Daniel said to me years later that he wanted to sing, I wasn’t happy at all. I said to Mam I didn’t want him to, but if he was going to go down that road I wanted him with me. At least I could look out for him. It [the industry] left such a horrible mess in my life that I was afraid for him. Now I don’t have to be afraid for myself any more because I came out the other end. I have huge pride in Daniel, both as a singer and as a man, and nobody can ever take that away. I wish a lot of men had a tenth of what he has because his principles are outstanding.
Daniel: Will you stop making me out to be a saint!
What is it that makes Daniel that way, Margo?
Margo: Daniel isn’t all about the music. I brought it as far as I could. I took a drink and went down that dark road. Am I sorry? No, I’m not sorry, because I came out of it a better person. Daniel is different – he takes things more in his stride, he always has time to stop and talk and care. That comes from the best of our father and our mother because Mammy would talk to anybody. She was fabulous, she could read people and Daniel has her warmth too.
Daniel: I was very lucky with the people I met. Mick Clerkin from the record company introduced me to Sean Reilly, who was my manager for 30 years. Even though Sean was in the business side of things, he wasn’t a ruthless manager. Margaret didn’t have someone like that. That was a big part of how smooth my ride was. My current manager Kieran Kavanagh is just the same – we have a great relationship. He sees me as a person first and a performer second. There was nearly 20 years of a difference from when I started to when Margaret did. I had a new road and it’s easier to reach your destination on a good road. It was a lot bumpier when Margaret started.
Margo: At the height of my career, there were halls that wouldn’t play me because I was a woman. Then I started singing in halls around those bigger ones that turned me down until eventually they had to take me. As the years went on, and I became friendly with female country singers in America, I learnt they went through the same thing.
Daniel, it seems like you were very close to your mother…
Daniel: My mother was the only one at home with me for a long time. [Their brother] James left when he was 13. My mother’s cousin was a chef in Dublin and James was great at cooking so he went away to train. [Their sister] Kathleen was working in Edinburgh and [their eldest brother] John was driving Margaret so we were on our own, Mammy and me. We were very close.
You speak so lovingly of your mother, Julia, who died seven years ago aged 96. Neither of you have children. Do you think of your music as your legacy?
Margo: It could be. My biggest regret is not having children. I would have loved them and maybe that’s why I wish I was younger so I could have a child on my own without being married now. In my time you couldn’t do that. The first serious relationship I had didn’t work out. He disappeared out of my life and I never saw him again until he was married. We have both made peace with it since and his wife knows about it too. My heart was broken and that’s part of the reason I went down the road of taking a drink.
I wasn’t being treated fairly from the business side of things either. There was a lot of pain that I had to get rid of and I had to work through it all.
Daniel: It’s fantastic to be where she is compared to where she was. I was luckier, even though I don’t have children. I’m not Siobhán and Michael’s father [Majella’s children] and would never try to be, but Siobhán has two wee ones and they are just like grandchildren to me.
Daniel, are you proud of Margo?
Daniel: Irrespective of Margaret’s music, which has brought a great deal of pleasure to people, being able to overcome all of the negativity in her life may have helped people even more. With her opening up about her problems with drink and getting help, she could help others to do the same. Margaret has had great achievements in the music business but her real success to me is what she came through. The fact that she came through adversity and is content and happy is a fantastic achievement. That has to be more important than any song she ever sang.
You are both spiritual people. How important is your faith?
Margo: Very important. I carry a little miniature statue of [Italian saint] Padre Pio and it comes everywhere with me. I take great comfort in it.
Daniel: Yes, it is very important, although neither of us ever talk about it unless we’re asked. I never went on stage to Bible bash, nor did I avoid my faith. I didn’t realise the importance of Mass until I started travelling. I realised that it didn’t matter to anybody whether I went or not. I was going because I wanted to.
Have there ever been times when your faith was challenged?
Margo: No, I never felt my faith was challenged.
Daniel: I think at your most difficult times, when you are challenged, you become even more religious. Your faith is strongest because you’re reaching up hoping someone will be there for you.
