Heartbroken father Andrew McGinley has paid tribute to Daniel O’Donnell after the singer helped to raise €100,000 through a charity show in memory of his three children.
Mr McGinley, who is originally from Donegal Town, lost the children following a personal tragedy at the family home.
Andrew set up a charity in memory of the children and last year Daniel vowed to perform a concert to help give a cash injection to the ambitious fundraiser.
Daniel was true to his word and performed the intimate concert at St Finian’s Community Hall in the village of Newcastle, Co Dublin, on Thursday night for 200 lucky fans who travelled from all over Ireland.
They had won the exclusive Daniel concert tickets in a raffle for Andrew McGinley’s charity As Darragh Did, which supports community groups, clubs and societies all over the country.
The event took place not far from the McGinley family home in Newcastle where the children – Conor, Darragh and Carla – were killed by their mother Deirdre Morley, who was found not guilty of their murder by reason of insanity in May 2020.
As Darragh Did is one of a number of projects that their devastated father, Andrew, set up to keep the memories of his children alive.
“Daniel and his manager Kieran Cavanagh instantly agreed to do this special concert when I reached out for their support, and I am so very thankful to both of them,” Andrew told Independent.ie
“It means the world to me to have Daniel here tonight because he is such a popular entertainer with a great heart. When Daniel promoted this fund-raising concert on The Late Late Show last December an incredible €30,000 came in on that night alone.
“I want to thank the Irish people who have supported the As Darragh Did charity and the various projects in memory of Conor, Darragh and Carla. Darragh was involved in everything locally, from football and hurling to drama, and all of those clubs and societies need funding to continue getting children involved as Darragh did.”
