The queen of Country and Irish music, Margo O’Donnell, still weaves her magic whenever she goes on stage. From the small village of Kincasslagh that hugs the Atlantic on the coast of Donegal, it has been some journey since she joined her first local band, The Keynotes, as a teenager in the 1960s.

Margo’s story is the stuff of movies, a career that has seen her soar to the mountain top and also chase the demons down in the valleys. If Clint Eastwood ever got his hands on her life story, Hollywood would have another Coalminer’s Daughter style blockbuster.

Closing in on five decades since her debut single in 1968, Margo can still create a rapport with an audience that is almost unmatched on the circuit. Her appearances in recent years are rare enough and, because of that, are all the more cherished when they come around. It is a reflection of her enduring appeal that her concert in the INEC in Killarney on Friday, 28 October, is nearing sell-out.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I have been blessed with the most loyal of followers and friends,” says Margo. “They are always there for me and we have had some great years along the way. I am so much looking forward to my own show in Kerry where I will be joined by PJ Murrihy for a guest spot. I will also perform a new duet with Ciarán Rosney during the show in Killarney.

“I am also doing a guest spot in the Salthill Hotel in Galway on Sunday night, 13 November. Galway is very close to my heart. I lived there for a good few years and always enjoy my trips back there.”

Such is the extraordinary standing of Margo on the international stage that she can genuinely count some of the biggest names in American country music among her friends. “Dolly Parton is a real true legend of country music. I have been fortunate enough to record with her and we had such a great time in the studios and doing the photo shoots. Dolly is the world’s greatest ever female country star.”

Loretta Lynn and a host of others are all in the Margo friendship club. The news of the recent passing of Jean Shepard touched her heart in a special way. “Jean was the longest serving female member of the Grand Ole Opry in its history having joined back in 1955. We were in regular contact over the years. She was a real country singer and I first got to know her when we met at the Wembley Festivals in London in the 1970s.”

SPECIAL TIMES

“I later met her in Nashville and in Branson where we had some great chats about the country scene. She brought me on stage to sing during one of the Ladies of The Opry shows in Branson. I recall one day in Nashville where Jean along with Skeeter Davis and I were sitting around at Jeannie Pruett’s ranch. Those were special times.”

Margo has resided in Castleblayney for several years now. Blayney, as they call it locally, is, of course, the home area of Big Tom. And while Margo has been privileged to know so many of the greats of country music on both sides of the Atlantic, she has no doubt at all about the one person she cherishes most in the Country Hall of Fame.

“Big Tom is the absolute king of country music here in Ireland. He is the people’s choice. He is the one who touches hearts in a special way. I think so much of him and my heart just swells with pride when I think of him and when I meet him. There is no one else in the business who has ever had that impact on me.

“We both love the same kind of country music. We come from much the same kind of background, ordinary people rooted in rural Ireland and its people. I love Tom as a person. He has a brilliant mind and an amazing wit and humour and rural wisdom.

“I have been onto Monaghan County Council to erect a monument to him in the town of Castleblayney. To countless thousands outside of Monaghan, Big Tom is the greatest ambassador Monaghan has had for decades.

“They should cherish him as so many thousands of people do and start work immediately on putting that monument to the people’s champion in place. From the acclaimed Monaghan playwright Pat McCabe to another Blayney legend, Paddy Cole, as well as the great McArdle brothers from Blayney, they all endorse Big Tom McBride’s amazing stature on the national stage.

“When RTE held their inaugural Irish Country Music awards night back in June, there was only one person that could have received the Hall of Fame award, and everyone was absolutely thrilled that it was Big Tom. We will never see his likes again. Like all great icons, he is a one-off.”

You can see Margo in concert in the INEC, Killarney, on Friday, 28 October (064 667 1555). She is also doing a guest spot as the top of the bill act on the Michael Commins Concert Shows in the Salthill Hotel, Galway (091 522711) on Sunday night, 13 November.