Tea Day
MY EARLY WORKING life in the fields and fishing ports of Scotland was so different from the lifestyle that Daniel would go on to enjoy. That’s not to say, of course, that Daniel didn’t work hard for everything he achieved, or that he didn’t have tough times in his early days. It might seem like a glamorous life, but the reality is so different.
Sometimes there were more people on the stage in Daniel’s band than there were on the dance floor, and he was barely making ends meet. At the time, of course, I didn’t know how much of a struggle he was experiencing. As far as Daniel was concerned, I didn’t need to know; there was no point in two of us having to worry about his future in the entertainment business. It was only much later that I heard all of the stories.
While travelling across England, Scotland and Wales, he and the band often had to sleep in one room at motorway lodgings because that’s all they could afford between the lot of them. The band members drove their own unreliable, battered old van, with Daniel taking his turn behind the wheel too. But he never got disheartened. Daniel persevered because he loved what he was doing, and he believed that he could succeed. I think there’s a lesson there for everyone. Find something you love to do in life and you’ll always do a good job. Stick with it even during the times when it seems hopeless.
I was always worried about Daniel, and I said a rosary every night that he would meet good people in the music business who would look after him and guide him. Eventually, my prayers were answered. The two Irishmen who changed his life were Mick Clerkin, who gave him a big recording deal, and Sean Reilly, who became his manager. I always remember Mick and Sean in my prayers today because they have been so good for Daniel. Sean has been like a father to him. I don’t know what Daniel would do without Sean guiding him. A man with a kindly schoolmaster’s appearance, Sean is quietly spoken and a real gentleman. There are so many terrible stories told about singers being abused and diddled out of their earnings by unscrupulous managers, but Sean Reilly has honesty and integrity. Whatever Daniel was entitled to he got and not a penny less. Not only that, Sean had great vision and a belief in Daniel’s talent, and that would take them further in show business than most people ever imagined – they would even go on to do very well in America. Daniel put his total trust in Sean, and he has never been let down by his long-time friend.
With Mick and Sean looking after him, it wasn’t long before Daniel was filling the dance venues all over Ireland as well as England, Scotland and Wales. The word was spreading that this boy was something special, and before long there were queues waiting outside the dance halls several hours before he was due to perform.
In the years that followed, Daniel enjoyed more and more success, and I was delighted for him because I could see that he treated singing as a vocation. Daniel devoted all the waking hours in his life to his role as an entertainer. When he wasn’t travelling and performing, he was writing letters and cards to fans or going off to meet people who were sick, just to give them a little boost. It was no bother to him. Daniel loved every minute of it.
Whenever I’d go to his show, I’d see the joy that Daniel created among the people there, and that was a good feeling for me. Daniel would always take a moment during the evening to tell the crowd that I was in the audience; then I’d have to stand up and give a little wave.
‘Look at her waving; they wouldn’t do it any better in Buckingham Palace,’ he’d say, and the crowd would all laugh.
And then a strange thing happened; the people who followed Daniel started to recognize me. They would stop me to chat about Daniel and to have a photograph taken with me. Not just people from Donegal or Ireland but people from all over the UK as well. I woke up one day and realized that I was a bit of a celebrity myself. Now that’s something I’d never imagined as a child running wild around Owey.
I became aware that people were pointing me out when I was going into Daniel’s shows. ‘There’s Daniel’s mother,’ I’d hear them say. I was very happy to be recognized as Daniel’s mother. It made me feel good because I was proud of what he was achieving in his life. And the whole county of Donegal was proud of him too.
One evening in 1989 we were on our way back to Donegal from Dublin. We were travelling along Gweebarra, a stretch of road between Maas and Leiter, in County Donegal. Although there were no houses along the road, we came upon a lot of cars that were parked.
‘What’s wrong here?’ Daniel wondered.
‘There must be a wake somewhere,’ I said.
‘How could there be a wake when there are no houses?’ he remarked.
Daniel was driving swiftly along and the next thing he spots a Garda car waving him down. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘I’ve been caught driving too fast.’ When Daniel stopped, he discovered that the Garda and all of the other people were there for him. He had been voted ‘Donegal Person of the Year’. There were hundreds of cars out to meet him. Even though it was pouring with rain, all of those people came out for Daniel. I was so excited sitting beside him in the car that evening.
I still have that citation he received on behalf of the people of Donegal. It reads:
Daniel O’Donnell is a perfect example to the youth of our county and country. Success has not gone to his head. He has never forgotten his roots. He has not forgotten his mother and his family. He has not forgotten his beloved Kincasslagh and Donegal. And above all, he has not forgotten the people who have put him where he is today – his loyal fans.
He is never too busy to stay behind after shows to talk to them and sign autographs. Many are the stories that could be told of his visits to homes and hospitals to visit sick fans, even when that meant interrupting busy schedules.
One story which aptly displays his concern for his fans is the one which tells of an occasion when it came to his notice that some fans who were travellers (Irish gypsies) were being refused admittance to his show. He refused to go on stage until they were admitted.
Daniel never loses an opportunity to lend his name and his services, if possible, to worthwhile charities.
A non-drinker and non-smoker, his clean-cut image in his dress and in his living standards does not meet with approval from some of the gurus in the media, who seem to wish he were otherwise. But they meet with the approval of us here in Cumann Tir Chonaill (County Donegal).
The people who chose Daniel as their ‘Donegal Person of the Year’ recognized that he’s a great ambassador for his native county. During his concerts he always paints a wonderful picture of the place he comes from, and he’s forever inviting people to come and visit Donegal and Kincasslagh.
One day I woke up to find 600 fans outside my house – and they’d all been promised a cup of tea by Daniel!
For many years, during the local ‘Mary from Dungloe’ festival, Daniel would hold what he called an ‘Open Day’ at our house, where he’d meet anyone who wanted to see him. Daniel’s fans came to the festival from all over Ireland and Britain, and as far away as Australia, New Zealand and America.
One evening before the Open Day I noticed a car parked over at the bend near our house, and I could see a couple in it. Some time later I saw that it was still parked at the spot. ‘I wonder what they’re doing sitting there?’ I remarked to my daughter Kathleen.
‘I don’t know, but they are there a long time. I’ll go over to them to see if there’s anything wrong,’ she said.
The couple told Kathleen that they were going to stay there for the night, so that they’d get first place in the queue to meet Daniel the following day.
Kathleen was astonished. ‘Do you want me to bring some blankets out to you?’ she asked.
‘No,’ they replied. ‘We have our blankets and everything else we need for the night.’
When I got up the next morning, the couple were sitting on the wall by the road. I made tea and pancakes and took it out to them. They were so delighted, and we chatted for ages and ages. Daniel has really lovely fans, and they’re so devoted to him.
On one of those days I met another couple who were just married, and they’d decided to make Daniel’s Open Day at our house part of their honeymoon experience. Wasn’t that lovely!
Daniel should have called his Open Days ‘Tea Day at My House’ because everyone who came to see him got a cup of tea. Kathleen and all her crew kept the tea flowing, and one by one the fans passed through, greeting Daniel, having their photos taken and getting their cuppa. It was a lovely day for everyone.
All our neighbours were very understanding too, because I have no doubt that the traffic jams were a nuisance for them at times, even though the local Garda were on duty trying to keep it all running smoothly. No one ever complained, though, I have to say.
Eventually Daniel had to bring an end to that event. In the early stages, hundreds came to meet him. By the end, there were 6,000! And television crews from Ireland, the UK and even America! That was an incredible amount of people to cope with. And it looked like it would get even bigger. Daniel realized then that the Open Day had become a far more popular attraction for the fans than he ever anticipated. People were waiting too long in the queue. And then Daniel could only give them a few seconds. He felt that the fans were going away disappointed, so for everyone’s sake the curtain had to come down on it. But the memories of that time are great.
I will never forget the sight that would greet me when I’d look out of the windows on the morning of that Open Day and see thousands of people. It was unbelievable. To this day fans sometimes stop at the house when they’re visiting the area and I often meet them. They sometimes ask me to step in for a photograph with them, and they say, ‘You are the next best thing to meeting Daniel.’
I also get lots of letters, sent to me personally by Daniel’s fans. And they come from all over the world. I try to answer most of them, even though I’m sure nobody expects me to write back. These days I have all the time in the world, so what a lovely way to pass it by keeping in touch with people who have such a love for Daniel.