Margo (born Margaret Catherine O'Donnell; 6 February 1951) is an Irish singer. She rose to prominence during the 1960s in the Irish

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

scene and has had a long career since.

Background

Margo was brought up in the small village of Kincasslagh, in The Rosses area of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrcon ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. She grew up in a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

family, with her parents Francis and Julia (née McGonagle) O'Donnell, and her siblings: John (the eldest), Kathleen, James; and the youngest

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

, who is also a singer. Her father died of a heart attack when she was seventeen.

Career

Margo started performing

at a young age in 1964 with a local

showband The Irish showband was a dance band format popular in Ireland from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. The showband was based on the internationally popular six- or seven-piece dance band. The band's basic repertoire included standard dance numbers and ...

, The Keynotes. She recorded her first single in 1968, "Bonny Irish Boy/Dear God", and followed this with a second single, "If I Could See the World Through the Eyes of a Child/Road By the River", released in 1969. In the next five decades, Margo sold over 1 million records, and performed with

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

, Loretta Lynn and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album ...

. She presented several TV shows for

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

in the 1970s and has collected a number of awards during her career. Her albums usually include covers of popular country music hits from the 1960s and 1970s. Her 2019 album "''Old and New''" contains original tribute songs to two of her greatest influences, Liz Anderson and Jean Shepard. She has recorded a number of songs written by Liz Anderson and also a number written by

and on her album ''Margo and Friends'' she duets with Parton on "God's Coloring Book".

Personal life

Margo is sister to Irish singer Daniel O'Donnell, who got his start with Margo's band in the early 1980s while attending college in Galway. Margo was named "2007 Donegal Person Of The Year" and spent most of 2007 travelling Ireland acting as an ambassador to the county. She is a resident of Castleblayney,

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ga, Contae Mhuineacháin) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is part of Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Monaghan. Monaghan County C ...

. Since 1977, she has been active in the search for Mary Boyle, a distant relative from Kincasslagh, who went missing at age six near

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Locati ...

, County Donegal. In 2011, she released the single "The Missing Mary Boyle" to raise funds for a new search for the missing girl. In 2015, Margo wrote a memoir, ''Margo: Queen of Country & Irish: The Promise and the Dream'' that was published by

The O'Brien Press The O'Brien Press is an Irish publisher of mainly children's fiction and adult non-fiction. History The O'Brien Press was founded in 1973, evolving out of a family-run printing and type-house. Its first publication came in November 1974 and num ...

Discography

Studio albums *''Margo and the Country Folk'' (1970) *''From Margo with Love'' (1971) *''Country Lovin (1972) *''At Home in Ireland'' (1974) *''The Girl from Donegal'' (1975) *''Yes! Mr. Peters'' (1976) *''A Toast to Claddagh'' (1977) *''Ireland Must Be Heaven'' (1980) *''A Toast from an Irish Colleen'' (1981) *''The Irish Songs I Love to Sing'' (1984) *''Margo Now'' (1987) *''A Trip Through Ireland'' (1989) *''Ireland on My Mind'' (1992) *''New Beginnings'' (1994) *''Old Friends of Mine'' (1995) *''Old Friends Share Old Memories'' (1996) *''The Highway of My Life: Shade of the Family Tree'' (1998) *''I'm Still Here'' (2002) *''Parcel of Dreams'' (2006) *''Stories in Song'' (2010) *''The World Through My Eyes'' (2012) *''The Promise and the Dream'' (2014)

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Margo 1951 births Living people Irish country singers Musicians from County Donegal 20th-century Irish women singers 21st-century Irish women singers