Many tributes have been paid to Julia O’Donnell, mother of legendary country singers Margo and Daniel O’Donnell, who died in her home county of Donegal at the age of 94.

Julia was probably the best-known mother of any of our country singers and was very much at the heart of the careers of her famous daughter and son. She also played a central role in hosting Daniel’s famous Tea Parties at the family home in Kincasslagh in former times.

A book about her life story was published some years ago. Mayo singer Paddy Joe even composed a special tribute to Julia O’Donnell.

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Julia enjoyed the simple things in life and, as the people in rural Ireland might say, she never lost the run of herself. She remained rooted in the ethos of her native region, the strong west Donegal accent resonating across the years.

She loved the music scene and enjoyed composing her own verses. She was a top-class knitter, sending some creations to the Pope and Buckingham palace. She remained the quintessential Irish mother of her generation – homely, welcoming and as down-to-earth as they come.

Many from the world of showbiz journeyed to Kincasslagh in west Donegal for the funeral ceremonies last week, including Big Tom and Dana, where they joined with Julia’s neighbours and friends of a lifetime.

Julia (nee McGonagle from Owey island) is survived by her sons John, James and Daniel, daughters Margaret (Margo) and Kathleen and the family circle. CL

Country Sound show on Sky 191

In response to major demand, the The Phil Mack Country Show will broadcast a repeat of a series of interviews with many of the award winners at our Country Sound Awards night in the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone.

The 90-minute show will be aired on Sky 191 next Sunday, 1 June, between 3pm and 4.30pm.

It will also feature some new inserts, including an interview with Kieran McAnallen from the Armagh City Hotel which was recorded at the recent Balmoral Show held near Lisburn, a few miles from Belfast.

“We had a huge response to the Irish Farmers Journal Country Sound Night in the Hodson Bay and received numerous requests to repeat the show,” says Phil Mack.

“It includes short interviews with so many of the well-known names from the Irish country scene. It was a brilliant night and we got a massive response to it from our viewers, not only in Ireland but all over the UK and much further afield as well.”

Derek and Sharon team up for Armagh show

Derek Ryan headlines a major open-air concert and dance at the Armagh Athletic Grounds on Saturday, 31 May.

This is another major venture for the young Carlow man and comes a few weeks ahead of his first concert night in The Olympia Theatre in Dublin in mid-July.

This week also saw the announcement of a September trip to Australia, with shows planned for Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Rockhampton and Brisbane with more dates to be added in the weeks ahead.

The special guest on the Armagh show will be Sharon Shannon, the award-winning accordion player who has enjoyed success both as a solo artist and with the band, The Waterboys. Sharon is featured on Derek’s latest single, Hold On To Your Hat.

A few duets can be expected during the show. The compere for the event is Hugo Duncan.

Tickets can be bought from the Armagh GAA website, www.armaghgaa.net, the Armagh County Office and other outlets.

For further details about the event, call 028 37538647.

Johnny Brady is creating a stir

Johnny Brady is creating a stir with his latest single, Have We Reached The Bottom Yet.

The number is garnering huge airplay all over the country and the Antrim man is delighted with the response.

“I have to say I am very pleased with how this song has turned out for us. It is infectious and people have taken to it. It is also going down a treat at all our shows,” said Johnny Brady.

Donegal dance for Temple Street

A fundraising country dance in support of Temple Street Children’s Hospital will be held in the Abbey Hotel in Donegal town on Wednesday, 4 June. Music on the night will be provided by Off The Cuff, Paul Kelly, Farah Boyle, Grainne Gavigan, Trevor Loughrey, Joe 90 and Dylan Johnston. Admission is €10.

Greenhills keeps

it country

The Greenhills Hotel in Limerick continues to provide a welcome outlet for country singers and bands and also for the dancing public. A number of Saturday night Hooleys are also proving to be very popular. Watch out for Michael English on Thursday, 12 June, Patrick Feeney on the 19 June and Mike Denver in The Greenhills on Thursday, 17 July.

Sheerins host Garth Brooks night

The Sheerin family continue their regular once-a-month gig, playing to a packed house in Cooney’s Hotel, Ballymahon, when they host another show next Thursday, 5 June.

The seven member family band will be joined on stage by a number of personalities from the music business to pay tribute to Garth Brooks ahead of his Croke Park gig. There will also be a chance of winning two tickets to his concerts in July.

The Sheerins will be joined on the night by Trevor Smith, lead singer with Friends In Low Places – the ultimate Garth Brooks experience tribute band. The multi-talented Sheerin family, who always create a great bond with their audiences, will also be joined on the night by a well-known RTÉ radio presenter and many surprise guests from the Irish music scene.

The show gets underway at 10pm in Cooney’s Hotel and admission is free.

Kilronan night for Crumlin

Kilronan Castle in Co Roscommon is the venue for a Rose and Bachelor show on Sunday night, 1 June. The novel event is in support of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin.

Sinead Flynn, one of the chief organisers, says the venture is attracting good local interest and patrons can look forward to a very enjoyable evening and night at Kilronan Castle. It gets underway at 9pm and the compere for the show is Eugene Murphy of Shannonside Radio. The Ferryman will provide entertainment after the ceremonies.

Islands inspire new album from Wayne Brennan

The new album from Tullamore singer Wayne Brennan, Live, Love, Sing and Dance, is now available.

This is Wayne’s second studio album and is a collection of special moments, situations and feelings from some of the most beautiful islands on planet Earth.

The songs on this new album were written (during an extended two-year trip around the world) on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canaries, Bali in Indonesia, Koh Lanta and Koh Phangan in Thailand, Ponza in Italy, Barry Island in Wales and finishing off here, in Ireland.

Roots In These Lands, a song composed by Wayne in recent years, is included on the album. The song won first place in RTÉ RAAP Bursary Awards in the trad/folk category and first place at the Sean McCarthy Ballad Contest.

It was also chosen for the documentary A Grand Experience by Mixed Bag Media, which was commissioned by Offaly Co Council.

Five years have elapsed since Wayne released his debut album In My Hands. His chart topping debut single And I Love is still going strong on YouTube, with over 600,000 views to date.

Wayne is currently based in London where he enjoyed performing on the circuit. He plans to return to Offaly in the coming months to begin his nationwide tour.

The new album, Live, Love, Sing and Dance, is available to purchase directly from Wayne’s website www.waynebrennan.com online in various stores, including iTunes, and from various outlets nationwide. For more information go to www.waynebrennan.com