Margo O’Donnell Says Lockdown Helped Heal Family Rift With Brother Daniel: “I Didn’t Realise How Much I Loved Him”
For decades, Daniel O’Donnell and his sister Margo have been two of Ireland’s most beloved musical voices. Together, the siblings from Donegal became household names, bringing country and folk music into living rooms across Ireland and beyond. But behind the harmonies lay years of tension that at times fractured their relationship. Following the death of their mother, Julia, in 2014, the pair became estranged for more than five years.
Now, in a candid reflection, Margo has revealed that the COVID-19 lockdown brought an unexpected gift: reconciliation. Forced into stillness and introspection, she said she discovered feelings she had long buried. “I had time to recap on everything during lockdown when nobody was going anywhere,” she told RSVP Magazine. “I did a lot of reading, research and reflecting. I discovered that I didn’t realise how much I loved Daniel.”
Margo admitted she had “suppressed the love” for her brother for many years, perhaps out of hurt and disappointment in her own life. But the pandemic forced her to confront the depth of her emotions. “It’s like I gave myself permission to feel and to acknowledge those feelings,” she explained. “Before I matured in the lockdown, I wasn’t able to look at my brother and say, I love you with all my heart.”
The siblings marked their reconciliation in a symbolic way: their first-ever joint photoshoot to celebrate milestone birthdays — Daniel turning 60 and Margo 70. For Margo, it was a moment filled with gratitude. “I was so looking forward to being here today. I felt blessed when I was in the car and driving around Donegal chatting away with Daniel. It will be such a wonderful memory.”
Daniel, too, spoke openly about his pride in his sister. While he acknowledged her many musical achievements, he emphasized that her greatest accomplishment has been her battle with addiction and her journey to sobriety. “Irrespective of Margaret’s music, which has brought a great deal of pleasure to people, being able to overcome all of the negativity in her life may have helped people even more,” he said. “With her opening up about her problems with drink and getting help, she could help others to do the same.”
He added that her willingness to be honest could inspire those still struggling. “Somebody who is in the same situation as Margaret may read something about her story now or in the future and may think if she can get out of that, maybe I can. Margaret has had great achievements in the music business, but her real success to me is what she came through.”
For Margo, the journey to healing has not been easy. She admitted that her biggest regret in life was never having children. “I would have loved them,” she said. “Maybe that’s why I wish I was younger, so I could have a child on my own without being married. In my time, you couldn’t do that.” A broken relationship in her youth left her heart shattered, and she turned to alcohol during years when professional struggles compounded personal pain.
She eventually sought treatment at the Aiséirí centre in Tipperary, which she described as the hardest but best decision of her life. Lockdown, she said, gave her the final push to embrace forgiveness — both of herself and of others. “If drink was flowing around me now, I would never want it. It took Covid for me to come to terms with what I needed in my life and what I loved in my life and to know what was important. I have learned to forgive myself.”
Today, Daniel says simply: “It’s fantastic to be where she is compared to where she was.”
For two siblings who once shared the stage but then walked separate paths, the quiet reconciliation of lockdown has brought them back together. And for the fans who have loved them both, it is a reminder that family bonds, though strained, can heal — even after years apart.