Margo

Margo
Margo in concert.
Background information
Birth name	Margeret Catherine O'Donnell
Also known as	"The Queen of Country and Irish"[1]
Born	February 6, 1951 (1951-02-06) (age 58) County Donegal, Ireland
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1964–present
Associated acts	Daniel O'Donnell
Website	Official website

Margo (born Margeret Catherine O'Donnell on February 6, 1951) is an Irish singer. She rose to prominence during the 1960s in the Irish country music scene and has had a successful career since.^[2]

Background

Margo was brought up in a small village called Kincasslagh in County Donegal, Ireland. She grew up in a strict Roman Catholic family, with her parents Julia (née McGonagle) and Francis O’Donnell and her siblings: John (the eldest), Kathleen, James and Daniel. Her father died of cancer when she was still relatively young.^[3]

Career

Margo started performing Country music at a very young age in 1964 with a local showband, The Keynotes. She recorded her first 45 rpm single in 1968, "Bonny Irish Boy/Dear God", which was a huge success and shot Margo to the top of the Irish country scene. Her second 45 single, "If I Could See The World Through The Eyes Of A Child/Road By The River" released in 1969 cemented her newfound stardom with fans worldwide. Margo has been a successful singer for over 5 decades and the Queen Of Country and Irish has sold over 1 million records to date and has performed with such legends as Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. She also presented numerous TV shows for RTÉ in the 1970s and has collected many awards during her long career. ^[4]

Also in October 2007, Margo travelled to the USA to record with George Jones.

Personal life and achievements

Margo is the sister of Irish crooner Daniel O'Donnell. Daniel got his start with Margo's band in the early 1980s whilst attending college in Galway. Margo was named "2007 Donegal Person Of The Year" and has spent most of 2007 traveling the length and breath of the country acting as an ambassador to her native county. ^[5]

She has spoken publicly about her battles with alcoholism and depression, which she attributes to the stress of years of touring and financial difficulties due to poor management contracts.^[6]

Margo is an avid campaigner for proper cancer facilities in County Donegal. ^[7]

Rumours abounded in the late 1990s regarding Margo's relationship with Daniel with speculation that she may, in fact, be his mother and not his sister. However, she is only ten years older than him.

References