Canarian Weekly
27-02-2015, 12:00
IRELAND’S golden couple, Daniel and Majella O’Donnell, are taking the next 18 months off to spend some long-awaited quality time together.
The 53-year-old Donegal singer, who has a holiday home in Tenerife and is a regular visitor, has now began his extended sabbatical from music over here after ending a week-long residency on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.
He has joined cancer survivor Majella, 54, at their villa on the Island, where the pair will relax and discuss how to spend their new-found leisure time.
Majella’s diary has become almost as busy as her husband’s in recent years. Her searingly-honest portrayals of her battles with depression and breast cancer have seen her become a beacon of hope for thousands of people at home and abroad.
She has also become a published author and founder of a mental health charity, and is in huge demand for celebrity appearances and speaking engagements.
In response to one such invitation via social media at the weekend, Majella tweeted: “Unfortunately, not for the foreseeable future. I’m out of the country most of the next 18 months.”
Daniel shocked fans last year when he announced he would take the first-ever extended break of his 30-year music career, after finishing his stint on the Gertrude Byrne Caribbean cruise.
He said Majella’s cancer diagnosis made them both realise that “life is short”. Three months after the announcement, the singer’s beloved mother, Julia, passed away at the age of 94.
Daniel told fans: “For me, this was a very big decision, but there are a number of things Majella and I want to do. And even if we live to be 90 (which I hope we do), I don’t want to have to say, ‘I wish we took the time to do such and such’.”
The Irishman, whose great pal Cliff Richard accompanied him on a previous visit, added: “I want to stress that this is not retirement – it’s just a sabbatical.”
Leisure travel, and a few visits to the fairways for golf-loving Daniel, are likely to be on the cards.
Meanwhile, the only engagement pencilled in for the singer is a trip home in May to raise funds for Dungloe Hospital, where his mother was treated.
Fans will have to wait until August 2016 before he tours again.
kicking off a new tour at Killarney’s INEC.
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/daniel-odonnell-heads-here-long-holiday/)
The 53-year-old Donegal singer, who has a holiday home in Tenerife and is a regular visitor, has now began his extended sabbatical from music over here after ending a week-long residency on a cruise ship in the Caribbean.
He has joined cancer survivor Majella, 54, at their villa on the Island, where the pair will relax and discuss how to spend their new-found leisure time.
Majella’s diary has become almost as busy as her husband’s in recent years. Her searingly-honest portrayals of her battles with depression and breast cancer have seen her become a beacon of hope for thousands of people at home and abroad.
She has also become a published author and founder of a mental health charity, and is in huge demand for celebrity appearances and speaking engagements.
In response to one such invitation via social media at the weekend, Majella tweeted: “Unfortunately, not for the foreseeable future. I’m out of the country most of the next 18 months.”
Daniel shocked fans last year when he announced he would take the first-ever extended break of his 30-year music career, after finishing his stint on the Gertrude Byrne Caribbean cruise.
He said Majella’s cancer diagnosis made them both realise that “life is short”. Three months after the announcement, the singer’s beloved mother, Julia, passed away at the age of 94.
Daniel told fans: “For me, this was a very big decision, but there are a number of things Majella and I want to do. And even if we live to be 90 (which I hope we do), I don’t want to have to say, ‘I wish we took the time to do such and such’.”
The Irishman, whose great pal Cliff Richard accompanied him on a previous visit, added: “I want to stress that this is not retirement – it’s just a sabbatical.”
Leisure travel, and a few visits to the fairways for golf-loving Daniel, are likely to be on the cards.
Meanwhile, the only engagement pencilled in for the singer is a trip home in May to raise funds for Dungloe Hospital, where his mother was treated.
Fans will have to wait until August 2016 before he tours again.
kicking off a new tour at Killarney’s INEC.
More... (http://www.canarianweekly.com/daniel-odonnell-heads-here-long-holiday/)