{"id":674989,"date":"2026-09-06T07:14:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-06T07:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/674989\/"},"modified":"2026-09-06T07:14:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-06T07:14:22","slug":"the-scripts-danny-odonoghue-i-was-in-therapy-saying-all-the-right-things-but-drinking-at-weekends-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/674989\/","title":{"rendered":"The Script\u2019s Danny O\u2019Donoghue: \u2018I was in therapy, saying all the right things but drinking at weekends\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December 2023 Danny O\u2019Donoghue<\/a> swore to his therapist that he\u2019d stay sober for Christmas. Even as the words came out of his mouth the Script frontman knew he was lying. He started drinking as soon as he got on the plane back to Dublin. He didn\u2019t stop for days and would spend much of Christmas uncomfortably numb, lost in a haze of booze and self-loathing.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy the time I\u2019d landed I was pissed. I was speed-dialling. I went straight into it,\u201d O\u2019Donoghue says over Zoom from the London home he shares with his wife of 15 months, Ana\u00efs Niang, and from where he is hard at work promoting The Script\u2019s latest helping of heart-on-sleeve pop-rock, The User\u2019s Guide to Being Human.<\/p>\n

He spent most of the holiday in an intoxicated funk, only coming up for air on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so that he would be clear-headed for a visit to Temple Street children\u2019s hospital in Dublin. \u201cOther than that I spent the entirety of Christmas pissed. I never felt so hungover and bad and distraught.\u201d<\/p>\n

Booze was his way of processing the grief he felt over the death, in 2019, of his mother, Ailish, and, in April 2023, of his 46-year-old Script bandmate Mark Sheehan \u2013 an older-brother figure to O\u2019Donoghue, whom he had met when he was a shy kid attending a youth club in Ballinteer, south Dublin.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Mark Sheehan obituary: A \u2018gorgeous soul\u2019 for whom music was an escapeOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Sheehan\u2019s death had opened a trap door that plunged O\u2019Donoghue into an existential crisis. As both a friend and bandmate of Sheehan, O\u2019Donoghue didn\u2019t know how to carry on without him. The Script had, along with the band\u2019s drummer, Glen Power, been their life\u2019s work together. He felt the responsibility to keep The Script going rested entirely on his shoulders. Without Sheehan \u2013 a talented producer and arranger \u2013 could he carry that burden?<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Script, featuring Danny O’Donoghue, Mark Sheehan and Glen Power, performing at Dublin’s 3Arena in 2020. Photograph: Crispin Rodwell for the Irish Times <\/p>\n

He also worried that the public did not see him as the voice of The Script so much as the face and the haircut \u2013 that they regarded Sheehan, the band\u2019s guitarist, as the real talent. O\u2019Donoghue had always written songs for the group, but he wasn\u2019t sure people knew about his contribution. Would they accept The Script without Sheehan?<\/p>\n

\u201cEven after Mark passed there was a certain amount of, \u2018Oh, does everybody think it was Mark that was the genius in the band?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cDoes anyone know? Not to fight against it, but you want to show your worth. And you\u2019re taking the memory along too. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re taking the world on your shoulders and Mark as well. You want to do best by them, the family, and his memory. Also, don\u2019t screw it up: we had a bloody great track record before then.\u201d<\/p>\n

As he got on that plane back to London, he was, he says, heading towards a very dark place. \u201cMark had just passed away. The emptiness of not having a family. Being in my 40s, thinking, what the f**k have I done all this for? Is there a legacy there? <\/p>\n

\u201cI was in therapy. Doing all the right things, saying all the right things. But also drinking at the weekends. I was talking to my therapist. But I could see he knew there was something I wasn\u2019t telling him.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the pain of Christmas at home faded, he had another meeting with his therapist, at which he \u201cratted\u201d on himself and admitted to having spent his time in Dublin staring through the bottom of a pint glass. That was when he stopped drinking and threw himself into The Script.<\/p>\n

The album that came out of that process was Satellites, from 2024, a reminder to the world that The Script were still a functioning entity and a heartfelt homage to a fallen comrade. Now, with The User\u2019s Guide to Being Human, comes a new chapter, both for The Script and O\u2019Donoghue.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the first Script album made completely without Sheehan or Power, and, even though he wrote it, O\u2019Donoghue comes across as a bit mystified by the record. He isn\u2019t quite sure if it\u2019s a rebirth or a swansong. Maybe it\u2019s both.<\/p>\n

Whatever it is, The Script are playing to their strengths, just as they did when they broke through in 2008 with hits such as The Man Who Can\u2019t Be Moved and Breakeven, their popularity bolstered by O\u2019Donoghue\u2019s stint, alongside Tom Jones and will.i.am, as a judge on the BBC talent show The Voice. Everything fans loved about The Script back then is present and correct on the new LP: the huge hooks, the pop-rock choruses, the earnest lyrics.<\/p>\n

That bigger-is-better philosophy looms large on its very first track, Man in the Arena, where O\u2019Donoghue sings passionately about his mission to give audiences a big, uplifting moment to light their way home. \u201cIf I stand or if I fall, I\u2019m still giving it my all,\u201d he sings. It\u2019s The Script doing the only thing they really know how to: making anthem music filtered through O\u2019Donoghue\u2019s caring, sharing worldview.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a really honest album. It\u2019s pop \u2013 unashamedly,\u201d he says. \u201cWe try to get our music heard by the masses.\u201d<\/p>\n

He is well aware that his instinct to connect with the public comes at a cost. \u201cWe\u2019ll never be that NME favourite, because we have these big glorious choruses that we want stadiums to sing. What you give up on one side you gain on another. We gained the popularity and the notoriety \u2013 you lose the credibility in certain corners. But we don\u2019t give a shit. We\u2019ve never given a shit what people think.\u201d<\/p>\n

The User\u2019s Guide to Being Human is doing well: when we talk it\u2019s in the running for UK number one. By week\u2019s end it will have debuted at number three in Britain, behind Phoebe Bridgers<\/a> and Katseye, and gone straight to number one in Ireland. He sees this as vindication that The Script still have something to say and an audience that wants to hear it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re up against one of the coolest records around [in Bridgers\u2019s LP Lost Weekend<\/a>]. You\u2019ve got Katseye, the global phenomenon that they are. Here we are, a little old band from 18 years ago, still punching above our weight.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donoghue was putting the final touches to the album when he found out that Glen Hansard<\/a> had died in a crash back in Dublin. He and Hansard had busked together at an annual Christmas Eve fundraiser on Grafton Street.<\/p>\n

But the relationship goes back much farther than that, to the 1990s, when Hansard fronted The Frames and Danny\u2019s brother Dara was a member of The Big Geraniums, a folk-punk band who became a big success on the college circuit in Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was about 12 or 13, Glen and I were on tour with The Big Geraniums. The Geraniums had a number-one album. The Frames were supporting; we did a mini tour of Ireland.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had the Big Geraniums bus; it was like a school coach. They chucked out the last 16 seats and put mattresses on the ground. And both bands were staying in the bus. <\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we\u2019d park outside a hostel, and then they\u2019d play at the local bar, and they\u2019d be paid in drinks. We were going around promoting the album. Some of my fondest memories were sitting in the back of the bus playing [the card game] shithead with Glen and Binzer,\u201d he says, referring to The Frames\u2019 drummer, Paul Brennan.<\/p>\n

He and Hansard were in touch during the pandemic and collaborated remotely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wrote together during lockdown because I was, like, I just f**ing love him to bits as a writer. So I contacted him. I said, \u2018Look, we\u2019ve never actually written something\u2026\u2019 So we went back and forth a little bit. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was working with Eddie Vedder at the time, and we went back and forth a little bit and wrote a few bits and pieces. We actually wrote a really beautiful song that I\u2019m going to take another listen to and revisit.\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donoghue has held off revisiting the track since Hansard\u2019s death because he doesn\u2019t want to be confronted by the sadness he feels about his friend\u2019s death. He went through much the same experience when his father, the musician Shay O\u2019Donoghue, died, in 2008, just as The Script were finally achieving success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t process it because I didn\u2019t want to process it. It\u2019s like if you don\u2019t look at it, it didn\u2019t happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

He wasn\u2019t able to attend Hansard\u2019s funeral<\/a>, at St Patrick\u2019s Cathedral in Dublin, last month, but what he saw of the ceremony he found moving. He becomes emotional as he brings up the online backlash against Bono, who paid tribute to Hansard by quoting from U2\u2019s song Beautiful Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI loved the funeral. The thing I couldn\u2019t believe was the armchair critics. Seeing it online, I actually thought, \u2018Do I even want to be in this industry any more?\u2019 You do something as beautiful as his family\u2019s wishes, whereby Bono got up, and he spoke the words to Beautiful Day \u2026 at Glen\u2019s family\u2019s wishes.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderneath it all [someone was writing on Instagram], \u2018I had to sit through f**ing Bono.\u2019 What do you mean you had to sit? We\u2019re not watching X Factor. It\u2019s shut-the-f**k-up time right now. Social media is now a blood sport. It\u2019s atrocious, some of that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

The funeral gave him \u201ca great send-off. I felt most of the stuff Bono said was true: best friends \u2013 everyone felt like you were best friends\u201d with Hansard.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Donoghue will be back in Ireland for The Script\u2019s forthcoming arena tour, though the band he leads will be very different from the one he formed in Dublin in 2001. It has expanded to a four-piece, with Ben Weaver in for Sheehan on guitar and Ben Sargeant on bass. The drums will be manned by Adam Marcello, who replaces Power.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlen\u2019s stepped away for the time being,\u201d O\u2019Donoghue says. \u201cWe\u2019re at a position where he\u2019s earned that right to do it. I\u2019ve continued on the whole way through, and then I\u2019ll be taking time off in March. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think everybody deserves and has earned their spot now to be able to do what they want to do. Let\u2019s just see where it goes. He needed a break. We needed a break. In March, I think we\u2019ll both get that. And you know, like I said, who knows where the future is going to go? But I\u2019m very optimistic about where it is, where it\u2019s all heading as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s still working out who he is without Sheehan. After this winter\u2019s tour, he\u2019s not sure what the future holds for him or The Script. Maybe it\u2019s time for a change. He\u2019ll wait until the latest run of dates ends to take stock.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0The Script at 3Arena in 2024 review: Danny O\u2019Donoghue thanks crowd for \u2018getting us through the worst part of our lives\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought a property down in Wicklow. Some people thought it was a listed building, so it was sitting on the market for ages. But we dug around, and it\u2019s not. It\u2019s a schoolhouse. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just had this dream of me going down and getting the tools and taking the place apart. And just doing something which I completely know nothing about. I can go back into student mode. My brother is very handy as well. So, I think, a bit of a family project.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, at the same time, start a family, spend time with my wife and maybe sit back a little bit. I\u2019ve been hard at it now for 18 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

The User\u2019s Guide to Being Human is released via BMG. The Script<\/a> play 3Arena, in Dublin, on Friday, October 30th, and Saturday, October 31st; and O2 Arena, Belfast, on Monday, November 2nd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In December 2023 Danny O\u2019Donoghue swore to his therapist that he\u2019d stay sober for Christmas. Even as the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674990,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[268],"tags":[3377,434,129995,18,117,2215,129992,19,17,285339,141756,50344,14470],"class_list":["post-674989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-bono","tag-celebrities","tag-danny-o-donoghue","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-for-you","tag-glen-hansard","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-mark-sheehan","tag-phoebe-bridgers","tag-the-script","tag-tom-jones"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117222865680162545","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674990"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}