Irish country music legend Margo O’Donnell has opened her heart about the loss of her beloved nephew, Frankie Bosco O’Donnell, describing his passing as one of the greatest heartbreaks her family has ever faced. Frankie, a devoted father of three from Keadue, Co Donegal, died last month at the age of 47 after a four-year battle with cancer.
Frankie, the eldest grandchild of the O’Donnell family and the son of Margo and Daniel O’Donnell’s brother John Bosco and his wife Bridget, was deeply admired in his community. He was a leading figure with Keadue Rovers soccer club and a proud supporter of Celtic Football Club. His funeral drew extraordinary crowds, a reflection of his impact on those around him. “It was like a State funeral,” Margo recalled. “There were people lined up along the road from Frankie’s house to the church, clapping as his coffin passed. It was something I never saw before in Donegal.”
Margo described Frankie as “the cut” of their late father, after whom he was named. “He had the same spiritualism, the same prayerful way. Daniel has that too with his love of Gospel music, but Frankie was his double,” she said. The loss has devastated the family, but Margo finds comfort in knowing Frankie no longer suffers. “What has been taken from us is pure gold, but I wouldn’t wish him another second of pain.”
She shared tender memories of their bond. As a boy, Frankie had called her “Mannie,” a nickname that stuck for life. In their final days together, Frankie knew the end was near. “The week before he died, we had a photograph taken together by his wife Lisa. He pulled me close and said, ‘This will be the last photograph, Mannie.’ He knew he was going.”
Despite his illness, Frankie devoted his last years to making memories with his wife and children — Sarah, Logan, and Ryan. Margo helped send the family to Disneyland, and last May Frankie fulfilled a dream by taking Logan and Ryan to see Celtic win the Scottish Cup Final. “That’s a memory they’ll always have with their dad,” she said.
“We have lost a pure diamond,” Margo added. “But we must be grateful for the time we had. We were blessed to have him.”
Margo spoke as she prepared for her own farewell concert at the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney on March 21. Marking 60 years since her first performance with The Keynotes, she reflected on her journey and the support of audiences across Ireland. She recalled how her younger brother Daniel O’Donnell first began in her band, playing guitar before making his own mark on the world stage. “He always had the essence of a star,” she said with pride.
Though stepping back from large tours, Margo made clear she is not retiring from music entirely. With the Ryan Turner Band backing her final Killarney concert, she says the time has come to say farewell properly. “I owe it to the people who have followed me so faithfully all these years,” she said.
As her family mourns Frankie’s passing, Margo balances personal grief with professional gratitude. The loss of her nephew is a wound that words can barely hold, but his memory — like her music — will endure.