BARNEY McDaid of ‘Barney and the Circle’ fame has handed over a cheque for €4,280 to Donegal Hospice.
The money was raised when he got the band back together to mark his 80th birthday.
The Circle played to a sell out crowd at the Amharclann in Gaoth Dobhair on August 26 – the first time in almost 40 years they had performed together.
Such was the success of the night that Barney and the Circle reformed again recently, this time at the Station House Hotel.
It too attracted a huge audience, keen to revisit the golden era of the dancehall days when Barney McDaid, Patrick Doherty, Noel Sweeney and Michael Hayes were in demand all over Donegal.
Over the decades Barney McDaid has raised thousands of pounds and euros for charities, among them the RNLI, Friends of the Hospital, the Day Centre, the Letterkenny Reunion, the Community Centre and many others.
“I’ve always wanted to play music,” he said.
“When I was eleven there was a shop across the street and it had a mouth organ.
“I begged my mother to get it for me and when it came to November she said Santa might bring it.
“I’ve always loved music, I still do and I loved being in the band. It was just great fun, innocent fun. There will never be days like that again.”
The McDaid family said that they wanted to thank everyone who supported the Hospice fundraiser held to celebrate Barney’s 80th birthday, either by attending the concert, donating online or through the raffle.
“To all the neighbours and friends, to all in Amharclann Gaoth Dobhair, to the Station House for facilitating the concert and Anne Biddie for helping, thank you all so much.”
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