After a 26 year hiatus, Daniel O’Donnell’s infamous tea party will return this summer.
The revival is part of the ‘Boil the Kettle’ appeal, a new addition to the annual Relay for Life Donegal’s fundraising activities.
This simple but powerful initiative invites people across Donegal, Ireland and the world to put the kettle on, gather their loved ones and host a tea morning or tea evening in support of the Irish Cancer Society.
Inspired by Daniel O’Donnell’s line “there’s always a kettle on the boil”, the campaign encourages people to boil the kettle, invite people in, share a cuppa, have a conversation and donate what they can.
The final Boil the Kettle event will be held in Daniel and Majella’s garden in Meenbanad, on Tuesday, July 28 from 1pm to 4pm.
The famous tea party
For those who remember, the original tea parties in the 1990’s were anything but small affairs. Held during the annual Mary From Dungloe Festival, they drew thousands of fans to Kincasslagh each year.
A clipping from the Donegal News archive captured the scale of it all. In 1995 alone, more than 3,500 cups of tea were poured at Daniel’s home.
“The tiny village comes to a virtual standstill during the open day as the thousands of fans begin assembling outside his home early in the morning. By noon traffic is normally at a near standstill and when the star himself arrives it is a no go area.
The patience of the Kincasslagh lad has to be admired considering that he poses for photographs almost continuously for up to eight hours and longer if necessary, sometimes even missing out on one of the thousands of cups of tea himself,” the article read.