In a deeply personal and courageous revelation, Irish country music legend Margo O’Donnell has opened up about her decade-long struggle with alcohol and painkiller addiction—a battle that began after a devastating breakup and culminated in her seeking help through rehab.
Now in her late 60s, Margo reflected on the dark chapter during an episode of RTÉ’s Keys to My Life, revisiting the home she once purchased in the aftermath of heartbreak—a house that became both her sanctuary and her prison.
“I had just come out of a broken relationship. If I wasn’t so modest, I’d just say it: he left me. He jilted me,” she shared, with honest vulnerability. “My pride was hurt. I thought, how could this man do this to me? The wedding was called off, and I was just… lost.”
Trying to make sense of her grief, Margo bought a house in Dublin on impulse. The walls of that house bore witness to a soul in crisis, as she turned to alcohol and medication to numb the pain.
“From the very first drink in 1974, I was an alcoholic,” she admitted. “I had a fear of the stage and thought I had found my crutch. There was always a reason to lift the glass—until there wasn’t. Eventually, it was either the glass or me.”
The spiral was lonely and self-destructive. Beneath her successful public persona, Margo was carrying an immense private burden—the weight of a promise made on her father’s deathbed.
“He wasn’t sick. One evening, he just looked at me and said, ‘Margaret, I’m tired.’ Then he told me to kneel beside him. He said, ‘Promise me you’ll take care of your mother and the wee ones.’”
That moment, she says, changed her life forever. She was only a teenager but immediately felt the weight of responsibility. Within days, Margo was back on the road, singing with The Keynotes, not yet 13 years old.
“I destroyed myself trying to keep that promise,” she admitted through tears. “I blamed him for leaving me. I blamed myself for not being able to hold everything together.”
Despite her inner turmoil, Margo carried on, becoming a trailblazer in Irish country music and a protective figure to her younger brother Daniel O’Donnell, who would go on to become a household name.
Eventually, she found the strength to seek professional help. Entering rehab marked a turning point in her life. Slowly, and with the support of her faith and family, Margo reclaimed her sense of self.
“It was a very stupid, very lonely time in my life. But I’m here now. I survived it. And I’ve found peace.”
Today, Margo continues to perform, write, and inspire—with a deeper sense of compassion for those quietly suffering. Her story is not just one of addiction, but one of resilience, responsibility, and redemption.
In sharing her truth, she is once again using her voice—not just to sing, but to heal.