Daniel to sing Cortoon writer’s song on American TV

Almost half a century after Cortoon’s Rita Flaherty wrote the song Dear Old Galway Town Daniel O’Donnell, who was the first to record it, will soon be singing it on TV in the USA and Canada.

“It was almost as exciting to get the phone call from Daniel out of the blue the other day as it was when he first told me he was recording it all those years ago,” says Rita.

“To say I was excited and shocked is an understatement! I'm still pinching myself wondering if it really happened. He needed my permission to record Dear old Galway Town for the RTV programme in the US and Canada.

“It’s unreal after writing it about 50 years ago that he needs permission now to do that. He has it also recorded for his show on TG4 Opry le Daniel on Thursday nights at 10.30. But as Daniel doesn't know what week it will be aired here yet I'm listening out for it every week. After all those years, it's like I'm going full circle with the song again and it's a great feeling,” added Rita.

RFD-TV (Rural Free Delivery Television) is available to more than 50 million homes nationwide in America as well as approximately 400,000 homes in Canada. It’s a cable channel that was set up over 25 years ago and is most popular in the Midwest States such as Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, Oklahoma and right across the heart of America.

When contacted by The Tuam Herald while on holiday in Croatia with his wife Majella, Daniel said that as he has been singing Rita’s song on stage for many years, he was delighted to do it again on his current series of Opry TV Shows on TG4.

“They also take some of the songs for our Opry shows and a few of them are then put on the shows that we do for RFD TV in America and Canada. I’m so delighted that one of those is that lovely song about Galway which was written by Rita,” he added.

The song was recorded first by Daniel on one of his earlier best-selling vinyl albums, titled I Need You and it has since been included on other albums including Daniel’s 40 Classic Irish Songs in 2009, the three CD set Daniel’s Ultimate Irish Album in 2016, both on Rosette Records.

It was also the box set of 10 CDs titled Reflections – The Studio Albums 1985-1994 released in 2019. Rita has written songs for many other Irish singers starting with The Indians Showband back in the early 1970s who recorded her Bar Lovin’ Woman song.