Daniel O’Donnell and Cliff Richard Delight Fans with Surprise Pub Singalong in Tenerife
By [Reporter Name]
TENERIFE — For tourists dropping into The Hole in the Wall, a popular Irish pub on the Spanish island, the promise of live music is always part of the charm. But on one unforgettable night, holidaymakers found themselves witnessing something extraordinary: a surprise singalong featuring two of music’s most beloved performers — Daniel O’Donnell and Sir Cliff Richard.
The impromptu performance came about almost by chance. Publican Fergal Flaherty, who runs the bar and performs there six nights a week, is accustomed to welcoming well-known Irish entertainers. Daniel O’Donnell, who holidays in Tenerife twice a year, has often jumped on stage for impromptu sets, delighting fans with intimate performances. Other names — including Paddy Cole, Nathan Carter, Philomena Begley, Lisa McHugh, and Curtis Magee — have also graced the pub’s small stage. Still, nothing quite prepared Flaherty for the night Cliff Richard walked in.
“I was on the stage and Majella [O’Donnell’s wife] came down with friends — including Cliff,” Flaherty recalled. “I thought, ‘Is this Cliff Richard, or is it someone doing a tribute act?’ Daniel had told me he had guests at his villa after a golf tournament, but he never said who. Then Majella leaned over and said, ‘Get Cliff up now for a song.’”
What happened next stunned everyone in the room. Richard, one of Britain’s best-loved pop icons, casually took Flaherty’s guitar and launched into his debut hit “Move It”. With no backing tracks, the performance was raw and powerful — old-fashioned rock’n’roll in its purest form. Word quickly spread across town that Cliff Richard was in the pub, and within minutes, crowds emptied out of nearby bars to catch a glimpse of the music legend. “We had to surround him to get him back to his car,” Flaherty said. “It was unbelievable.”
For O’Donnell, the night was another chapter in a long friendship with Flaherty that dates back to 1998, when the Donegal singer first visited the pub after hearing about its reputation. Their bond has deepened over the years, strengthened during personal trials, including Majella O’Donnell’s battle with cancer. Flaherty remembers being invited to stay at the O’Donnell home during that period — not out of obligation, but because Daniel insisted. “He told me it would take their minds off things,” Flaherty shared. “That’s the kind of people they are.”
The Donegal singer has often spoken about the joy he finds in the pub’s informal atmosphere. “I’ve sung in concert halls all over the world,” O’Donnell once said. “This is more enjoyable than the Albert Hall.” True to form, he often stays long after performances to meet holidaymakers, pose for photographs, and share conversations — a personal touch that has only deepened the affection fans feel for him.
The Hole in the Wall has since become something of a musical hub for Irish visitors to Tenerife, a place where memories are made and where stars let their guard down. For Flaherty, who once busked on Grafton Street before opening the bar in 1996, the friendships he has forged with O’Donnell and now Richard are moments he still finds hard to believe. His music even found its way into O’Donnell’s catalogue when the Donegal crooner recorded “Remember Me”, a Christmas song Flaherty had written, for his holiday album.
Looking back on the night Cliff Richard picked up his guitar, Flaherty still laughs at the sheer unlikelihood of it all. “You just never know who’s going to walk in,” he said. “One minute you’re playing to holidaymakers, the next minute Cliff Richard is leading a singalong. Nights like that, you never forget.”
For the fans packed into that small Tenerife pub, it was a once-in-a-lifetime memory — two legends of music, side by side, proving that sometimes the greatest concerts happen when nobody expects them at all.