Daniel’s surprise visit to cathedral ahead of Drumlinia

Midday churchgoers were stunned at the surprise appearance of Daniel O’Donnell, when he made an impromptu visit to the Cathedral of Saints Patrick and Felim last week ahead of his much-anticipated concert there later this year.

The Irish singing superstar humbly explored the grandeur of the cathedral, where he met with his host and founder of the Drumlinia Music Festival and Industry Week 2024, Don Mescall, before departing as quietly as he arrived.

Already hundreds of tickets have been shifted for what is expected to be a sold out show at the cathedral, October 20, with what remains on sale available from Multisound Cavan, www.townhallcavan.com, and the local presbytery.

“It’s beautiful in here, really beautiful,” marvelled Daniel in spiritual reverence, of what has now become a sanctuary for music lovers and devotees alike following the hugely successful performance by world renowned soprano Celine Byrne.

The cathedral show, the opening act of the Drumlinia festival and a fundraiser for the ongoing building restoration fund, will be Daniel’s one and only appearance in Cavan in 2024.

Only in its second year, Drumlinia has already become the largest and only festival of its kind in the country.

“We’re looking forward to the show we’re going to do here in October in this beautiful, beautiful setting,” Daniel told the Celt, media sponsor for the festival that’s being supported by Cavan Institute and Cavan Arts Office.

The singer, who only recently returned from Australia and performed a full 13 venue sold out Irish tour last year, said he gets “great solace” from what he termed as “inspiration shows” held in hallowed Church venues around the country.

Daniel’s latest album ‘How Lucky I Must Be’ continues a record that makes him the only artist to have a release in the UK charts every year for 36 consecutive years.

“The music is just beautiful to sing.”

Founder of the Drumlinia music festival, Don, thanked everyone who had purchased tickets for the concert to date, for what he says “promises to be a really memorable occasion”.

He thanked Cavan Arts and Fr Kevin Fay for their continuing support, and mentioned too the “incredible generosity” shown by Daniel himself in agreeing to perform the concert.

The cathedral has a capacity to hold up to 1,000 people, and Don says: “We’ve had very good sales so far, in the hundreds. The early demand is in no small part down to Daniel, the person and performer that he is. I have an ongoing relationship with Daniel, from working with him in the past, and I can’t speak highly enough of just what a genuine and talented person he is. Drumlinia is very proud to have him, and going on the atmosphere with Celine [Byrne’s] show last year, this promises to be a really memorable occasion. An incredible evening.”

Don said he has already “heard plenty” from local people who still fondly reminisce over Daniel’s yearly performances at the Ballinagh Community Centre in aid of Cystic Fibrosis. The first concert was in 1986 and it all began at the request of local fan, Kathleen Fitzsimons, who had two daughters living with the condition.

Daniel will perform at the cathedral with his band, and with support from the Cathedral Choir.

With Daniel set to open Drumlinia, the line-up of performers and events for the festival itself is set to be equally dazzling.

The initiative aims to encourage and nurture emerging musical artists and creatives.

Last year’s inaugural event was spread across three days. It saw the likes of 2FM’s Dave Fanning and podcaster and producer Lottie Ryan, among others, give their unique insights. This year’s festival will encompass an entire week.

“Preparations are well underway. Drumlinia, only in its second year as well, is turning into such a huge event now,” regards Don, who says the remit has also been expanded to stage more events for a wider age cohort.

“We already have some incredible industry leaders booked, ready to come to town. We’ll be announcing them in due course. We have more announcements to be made on the concert front, very exciting stuff. We have events for children, song-writing workshops, performance spaces. The whole thing has been expanded, to encompass the whole realm of media and creativity. We have experts in animation and film, we’re running a competition with ShinAwiL, the award winning independent Irish film and television production company for a three-minute movie. There are just incredible things happening.”