Daniel O'Donnell Information Update

Daniel O’Donnell is an Irish singer belonging to County Donegal, Ireland. His music falls into the category of easy listening and country music. He was born as Daniel Francis Noel O’Donnell on December 12, 1961 to Julia and Francis O’Donnell. He grew up with his siblings: John, Margaret, Kathleen and James. His father died in the year 1968, when O’Donnell was still very young and he used to spend his summers along with his grandmother in Owey which is at present an uninhabited island. As a teenager O’Donnell used to enjoy the traditional Irish dancing which used to take place at a local village hall. This initiated his interest in music. He was enrolled at the Naomh Brid Football Club but he was discontented with his life there. He finally decided to become a singer like his sister Margaret (Margo). Finally in 1980, O’Donnell discontinued college and went to join his sister’s band as a singer. His first song was “My Donegal Shore” (recorded in 1983) composed by Johnny McCauley. He released his recorded song using £1,200 from his own pocket and thereafter selling almost all the copies himself. Towards the end of the year 1983 O’Donnell formed his own music band called Fever. This group disbanded soon after and he formed another group The Roots. In1985, Mick Clerkin, of the Ritz label’s manager saw his performance. He was impressed with his performance which made him introduce O’Donnell to Sean Reilly, who still remains his manager till today. O’Donnell is also a good friend of Cliff Richard with whom he has performed on many occasions. O’Donnell’s autobiography is a book entitled “My Story”. An honorary MBE (Member of the British Empire) was awarded to him for his service to the music industry. He has fifteen Top 40 singles, twenty Top 40 albums and has sold around 10 million albums worldwide.