‘My God, what a voice!’ How Daniel met the future of country music in Dungloe
DANIEL O’DONNELL has tipped a little-known 22-year-old to be a country superstar.
The Donegal singer said he saw Patricia Maguire singing at this year’s Mary of Dungloe festival and was blown away.
Daniel said: ‘She was absolutely brilliant. She was singing on a stage in the street and I thought, My God, what a voice!
‘She put on a great performance and I have no doubts she is going to be a big star. She is my tip for the future.’
When the Irish Mail on Sunday told Patricia what Daniel had said, she said: ‘I am absolutely delighted. You have made my day. I only met him for the first time at the Mary of Dungloe Festival but he has been an idol of mine all my life. I just can’t believe it. I have followed Daniel for years and his music was always on in our house.
‘I used to dream of something like this happening when I was a girl. Everything I dreamt of seems to be happening.’ Patricia, a teacher’s assistant in her home town of Newtownstewart, Co. Tyrone, sings with a wedding band at weekends. She said she recalled seeing Daniel from the stage.
‘I was up singing and giving it my all and I suddenly saw him in the audience. I thought, Oh, there’s Daniel O’Donnell watching me, I’d better do good. There was added pressure, so maybe that’s why I did well!
‘I went up to Daniel afterwards with my granddad Paddy Coyle, who comes everywhere with me, and we had our photo taken and that was the first time I met him. Daniel then got up and sang and mentioned me.’
Patricia said she had been singing all her life and had followed in the footsteps of her mother, who still performs locally. ‘I have made a few singles and I released a new album in April, Truck Drivin’ Woman, which went really well. I had a full house when I launched the album.
‘I started off with wee charity concerts and then I was on the TG4 country music show Glór Tíre a couple of years ago and it has all taken off from there.’ Patricia reached the quarter finals on the show in which established artists and up-and-coming singers are pitted against each other.