Daniel O’Donnell is stepping back from touring to focus on his health.
05:00, 08 Mar 2026Updated 08:08, 08 Mar 2026
Daniel and Majella O’Donnell on RTEs High Road, Low Road(Image: RTE)
One of Ireland’s most loved couples Daniel and Majella O’Donnell were once again a hit with viewers when they returned to our screens last month, taking part in the latest series of RTE’s High Road, Low Road.
The pair had a holiday with a difference, with one enjoying a luxury holiday and the other being forced to travel on a shoestring budget.
And while it was a once-off appearance, the Donegal singer and his wife, Majella, have not ruled out other TV projects together, admitting they love working on television together.
“We do love doing stuff like this, I think we work well on television. There’s good banter between us,” Majella said.
The pair are getting ready to enjoy far more time together and with their family after Daniel took a step back from touring to focus on his health and some well-earned time off.
He admits: “I’ve just started to take the break really and I’m feeling good. I mean, I’ve had some allergy issues but I’m not unwell. I had chest infections and things like that but I’m fairly good now.
“I just took a break to see if I could figure out what was causing the allergies more than anything. Every so often I get a reaction to things. I don’t know if it is food related or something else, that’s part of the reason but also I wanted to just have a bit of time off too.
“I was 45 years on the road in January, so I felt the time was right. We’re going to go to Australia too, to Michael. They came for Christmas, but they live in Melbourne. So we hope to go for about three months at some point this year.”
On the experience of doing High Road, Low Road, Majella insists: “I was excited to give it a go, Daniel doesn’t do ‘excited’ [laughs]. We both knew we could do the low roads, no problem. I’m a very earthy kind of person. So it wouldn’t bother me.
“But having said that, I suppose I was probably hoping for the higher end version because I would like the nice food and hotel, but I wasn’t bothered either way. It was a great surprise at the airport.
“First there was the envelope to discover who is going high and who’s going low, and then to discover where you’re going. Because I didn’t realise High Road, Low Road have gone to Japan, America and South Africa. I thought it was all local European destinations. But they’ve gone to some fabulous places.
She adds: “We thought people would get sick of looking at us. We thought, ‘We’ll have a break and see after that’. I suppose to give people a break, but ironically they showed so many repeats, the public didn’t really get a break at all!
“But we do love doing stuff like that, I think we work well on television myself.
“There’s a good banter between the two of us.”
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