Irish star Daniel O’Donnell has started to think about retirement as he is decreasing his workload ahead of his 60th birthday.
The singer from Co Donegal hits the big 6-0 on 12 December 2021 and discussed with RTE Guide how he is feeling about his work and life as he approaches the milestone.
He said: “We’re not having any big celebrations. I’m not a great person for looking back. I’m happy where I am at and just enjoy what I’m doing.
“I’m not going to kill myself working forever. I’m not saying I’m going to retire but I won’t tour extensively as I used to.
“I’m now beyond that stage in my life and career where you’re trying to prove myself.”
O’Donnell has spent four decades touring the world. When he was getting started, he used to perform shows almost every night. As much as he enjoyed it, he was often at risk of suffering with burn out.
He said: “I learned that you have to take time away from work, which I do now.
“When I finish in America, I’ll do very little apart from the Late Late Show on December 10 and then I’m off until I do Gertrude Byrne cruise concerts in February and won’t do very much until August, so I have long periods of downtime.”
O’Donnell has let his hair down ahead of his big birthday and has released a cover version of Down at the Lah De Dah by Jimmy Buffett. The song shows his fun side and comes with a video that sees him appear in a Hawaiian shirt.
He added: “It’s brilliant to be approaching my 60th and have a song that people are humming along to.
“It’s like a nice present for my birthday.
“And while work can be tiring from time to time I don’t honestly feel that I’ve worked hard because I’ve enjoyed it.
“And yet it’s still work. Ach it’s hard to describe.”
Take a look at the video for O’Donnell’s single Down at the Lah De Dah below.
