Danny McElhinney was born and raised in Lifford. He was educated at Lifford National School and St Columba’s College, Stranorlar. He played in a band called Certain Elements and started acting in the Balor Theatre in the late eighties. He was in the 1989 National Youth Theatre production. (Stranorlar man Frank Laverty was also in that cast). He went to Cork, formed a band called Second Chapter. Later he joined another band called Mahogany Men. That coincided with going to Trinity College Dublin to study Drama (Ballybofey man Charlie Bonner was in my class). He became the music columnist in 2004 with Ireland on Sunday, now the Irish Mail on Sunday (Pictured above with Imelda May!) He also writes travel pieces and have won a couple of travel writing awards. He has also recently formed a band called Thewlis with former Mahogany Men guitarist Cormac Curtis and our debut single The Boy Behind Bowie was released on streaming platforms in mid-December. This is his My Donegal.
What is your favourite place in Donegal and why?
I live in Dublin but I still refer to Lifford as home and I feel most at home when I’m in my mum’s in Lifford.
Who is the one person in Donegal that you look up to and why?
My mum, Molly. She is and always has been the rock for me and all my family.
What’s your happiest Christmas memory in Donegal?
The year I got a tape recorder for Christmas when I was 12. I also got my first album (The Boomtown Rats’ Tonic For The Troops) I recorded everything that made a sound on Christmas Day. Then put it in front of the radio and recorded all my favourite songs off the radio. Press record and play and tell everybody in the room to keep quiet! I still have some of those cassettes at home…
If you could change one thing about Donegal, what would it be?
I love travelling by train. It would be great if a rail line was laid to allow people to access the county by train and travel through it. Imagine the views!
What has been Donegal’s proudest moment in recent years?
Winning the Sam Maguire again in 2012 was very special. I was in the Davin Stand at the Canal End. I will cherish being there that day until the day I die.
If you found a magic wand that allowed you to grant one wish for Donegal, what would it be
Unlimited funding for health, education and the arts! Well, you said the wand was magic!
What is your favourite Donegal-made product?
McDaid’s Football Special!
Who is Donegal’s greatest ambassador around the world and why?
I think Clannad (and Enya, of course) has brought the best of Donegal to the world to an unparalleled degree.
What is your earliest memory associated with Donegal?
Ooh, not a good one, falling at my granny’s and knocking out my front teeth. I was four, I think.
What has been the biggest compliment you’ve ever received?
I like that song you wrote. No matter who says it.
Who is your favourite Donegal sportsperson of all time?
There are so many. (Shay Given, Packie Bonner for example) but Michael Murphy is a brilliant sportsperson and is still a great example to young people.
What is your favourite Donegal restaurant/bar?
Bannigan’s Bar Lifford.
What is your favourite Donegal saying or expression?
Who are ye? De Ah know ye? Ah never liked ye?” (as said by a friend of mind from Ballybofey. She knows who she is!)
What is the biggest challenge facing the people of Donegal today?
I love Donegal though I haven’t lived in the county for decades but looking from
the outside, trying to persuade employers to come to Donegal and invest to create
more employment. But people who live day to day in Donegal would know better than me.
What is your favourite food that you associate with Donegal?
I’m no food critic. But when I eat a fish supper from Dudie Gallen’s chip van in Lifford when home and (before him, Danny and Dympna McCauley) I’m in my own culinary heaven!
Is there anything that really annoys you about Donegal or its people?
Maybe a tendency to hide our/their light under a bushel.
Just because it appears Donegal is far from the centre of things on a map, it doesn’t mean
that we can’t compete with the best in the world. Our sportspeople, musicians, artists and designers
prove that we can.
Who is your favourite Donegal entrepreneur?
I really admire Edel MacBride. She’s built a great business from scratch and is known the world over.
If you had a hundred million euro to improve something in Donegal, what would it be?
Now that the MICA scandal is being addressed that was the most pressing thing. Mind you, even 100 million wouldn’t have been a drop in that ocean. I would spend it on recreational facilities for young people and finally get Finn Harps’ new stadium open!
Where’s the most unusual place you’ve logged on to Donegal Daily?
On a seaplane in Dubai…long story!
Nomination for best dressed Donegal person?
My old classmate from St Columba’s College, Gabrielle McMonagle!
Is there anything about Donegal that you are very proud of?
I am proud of what our sportspeople, musicians, artists and designers have brought to the world. I would bring anyone from anywhere on the planet on a drive around north and west Donegal and defy them say it has not got some of the most beautiful views in the world.
What is the most rewarding thing about what you do?
I review music for the Irish Mail on Sunday and have for over 17 years. They have afforded me the opportunity to write about music that has changed my life and that of so many others. I recently started recording with my new band Thewlis and our debut single The Boy Behind Bowie has been receiving some really positive reviews and support. To be playing music again is really gratifying.