Margo (born Margaret Catherine O'Donnell; 6 February 1951) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 Cionn Caslach (anglicized as Kincasslagh) is a small Gaeltacht seaside village in the Rosses area of County Donegal, Ireland. Despite only having a population of just over 40 people, the village has attracted much international attention due to t ...

, in

The Rosses The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, ''Na Rosa''; in the genitive case ''Na Rosann'') is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, with a population of over 7,000 centred on the town of Dungloe, ...

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 Tyrconn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. 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, 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,

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

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 d ...

. She presented several TV shows for RTÉ 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 Liz is a female name of Hebrew origin, meaning "God's Promise". It is also a short form of Elizabeth, Elisabeth, Lisbeth, Lizanne, Liszbeth, Lizbeth, Lizabeth, Lyzbeth, Lisa, Lizette, Alyssa, and Eliza. People * Liz Balmaseda (born 1959), Pu ...

and

Jean Shepard Ollie Imogene "Jean" Shepard (November 21, 1933 – September 25, 2016) was an American honky-tonk singer-songwriter who pioneered for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which ...

. 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 Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had co ...

, 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 Castleblayney (; ) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town had a population of 3,607 as of the 2016 census. Castleblayney is near the border with County Armagh in Northern Ireland, and lies on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Let ...

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. Location B ...

, 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.

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