These Daniel O’Donnell superfans collect teapots and pillowcases with his face emblazoned on them – and have travelled as far as the Bahamas for a meet and greet

We all are fans of somebody – it could be a movie star or rock singer, but only a very select few of us step into true superfan territory – where just watching all their movies or buying all their records is simply not enough.

Jacky Orriss, Rachel Barrett and Carol McAvunie are most definitely one of these special fans. But they are not Swifties or Gaga’s Little Monsters. The object of their fandom is…..Irish crooner Daniel O’Donnell.

Jacky Orriss travelled as far as the Bahamas for a meet and greet and even camped outside in the cold for two nights to snap up the best seats to see her idol perform.

Full-time carer Jacky has even queued to get tickets to see the County Donegal-born singer appear on TV shows Loose Women and Strictly when he was a contestant on the 2015 series.

“A real highlight for me was being able to attend two Strictly shows when he was dancing. My friend and I queued from 2am in the morning to get entry.”

The 56-year-old first fell for the country crooner after accompanying her mum to a concert when she was 27. She says: “My mum Christine has always been a huge fan, but I was never bothered. I was more into George Michael. Then one time my mum had tickets to his concert but didn’t have anyone to go with – so I went with her That was it. “

Jacky Orriss with Daniel’s wife Majella ( 
Image:
Jacky Orriss)

Jacky wearing her Daniel scarf pictured with Daniel ( 
Image:
Jacky Orris)
George was out, and Daniel was in and has been Jacky’s main obsession ever since, thanks to his lovely voice and beautiful lyrics.

An added plus is the benefits of the personal attention and appreciation Daniel shows all his fans. Perhaps unlike any other artist, he repays fan loyalty – staying behind for hours after shows to meet and chat with concertgoers.

Jacky explains: “He’s so lovely. He’ll give you a hug and a quick chat. I always used to get nervous, and I never knew what to say to him. But he’s just so down to earth, and he puts you at ease. He’s just a genuine person, he cares so much for his fans.

“He’s phoned me up a few times on special occasions and sent a video message on my 50th birthday.”

The 62-year-old singer has been married to wife Majella, 64, since 2002 and Jacky has given her seal of approval -although she admits some fans were not happy to see him in a relationship.

Jackie told us: “I have met Majella a couple of times. The first was Daniel’s 40th birthday party in Birmingham, where he invited all his fans and introduced Majella to us.”

She adds: “It’s true he lost a few of his fans after that! But I think Majella is lovely. She makes him happy, so I am pleased for him.” So much so that Jacky set up the Daniel and Majella O’Donnell’s Facebook group which has over 34k followers.

Daniel O’Donnell superfan Rachel Barrett with Daniel in the nineties ( 
Image:
Rachel Barrett)
Rachel, 68, from Belfast, has seen Daniel in concert over 1000 times. She calls him her “hobby”.

“My geography improved greatly from going round the world to see him.” Most memorable was a trip to Branson, Missouri, where he performed a month-long residency in Branson, Missouri – she went to see him for all the dates.

Rachel explains,” My friend and I went to every single concert for the whole month. He didn’t do Thursday and Sunday so we did five concerts a week.”

Rachel’s grandchildren, 12-year-old twins Abigail and Jack, are also big fans – most recently, she took each one to him in concert on separate nights. “I took Abigail to see him in Belfast and Jack the next night at the Derry show. Abigail met Daniel afterwards – she was absolutely starstruck.”

Daniel O’Donnell superfan Rachel Barrett with Daniel in more recent years ( 
Image:
Rachel Barrett)Rachel used to play Daniel’s music to the twins when they were babies; “They really loved the gospel songs. It reality helped them drift to sleep.”

Now it’s also the only way Rachel gets sleepy: “I go to sleep with Daniel every night! I never pass two songs before I fall asleep; that’s not a snub on Daniel – that’s because it’s so lovely and soothing.”

Daniel calls Rachel on birthdays, and he also called to see how she was when her son Paul was in a car accident – back in 1997.

The mum of two used to have a whole house of Daniel memorabilia up until a decade ago when she and her husband Richard downsized: ” I had to give away a lot of things like my pictures, cushions with Daniel’s wee face on them. I gave those to some fans in the US – they were delighted.”

Like Jacky, Majella was also there when Daniel introduced to Majella to fans on his 40th birthday concert and recalls a few fans turning against him: “I remember some of them getting up and walking out after he brought Majella on stage. It just proved they were not really fans. That was Daniel’s happiness. I just thought silly women – if he hasn’t married you now, he never is!”

Rachel has no issue with Daniel’s happiness, as he brings so much to her life.

She says: “I know some people don’t understand it, but I don’t understand it. Daniel is my happy place, you go there, and you just have a ball, and you talk to everybody.”

Daniel O’Donnell with superfan Carol Mcavinue daughter Anita then aged 3 ( 
Image:
Carol Mcavinue)

Superfan Carol Mcavinue with Daniel and daughter Anita, now 33
Carol, 61, from Dublin, became a superfan 31 years ago, and since then, she has averaged two concerts a year.

She says: “I first saw him on TV -at the time, he was a new up-and-coming star – he had the voice, he had the look. Daniel had it all.”

The first time she went to see him, she was accompanied by her grandmother Kitty, mother Kay and her then three-year-old daughter Anita.

Carol recalls: “There were four generations of us, and we kept the concert going as if it were a family affair. Daniel took Anita up on stage with him. I’ll never forget it.”

Anita is now 33, but she still comes to see Daniel with her mum and her granny Kay, 85.

Superfan Carol Mcavinue and her Daniel O’Donnell memorabilia ( 
Image:
Carol Mcavinue)
Most recently, she took her grandson Jack to see him – so that’s six generations of fandom.“Jack was so impressed by him.

For Carol, it extends beyond going to concerts. The grandmother has amassed a collection of memorabilia “ I’ve got the teapots, the cups, the pillow covers, and aprons with Daniel’s face – as well as some of his crystal too!”

Carol, who is also a regular recipient of Daniel’s birthday videos, was even invited to a garden tea party at his Donegal home.

“He used to throw those parties for fans every year!” Carol reveals. “I’ve only been once and my mum has never been to Donegal.

Carol’s favourite Daniel song is How Art Thou?

She explains: “It just sends a shiver down my spine every time I hear it.”

Carol’s husband Mick, she says has grown to like his music. “He has had no choice,” she laughs.

One thing that these three superfans are most grateful for is being part of such a warm, welcoming community of like-minded people who also share their love for all things Daniel – and there is no danger, they say, that our numbers will be diminishing anytime soon – thanks to the new generation of fans – their grandchildren.