Whistlin’ Donkeys’ Fergal McAloon on how the band formed and their incredible success

Fergal McAloon, frontman of popular Co Tyrone band the Whistlin’ Donkeys, has opened up on life inside the band and how they formed before their incredible success

Fergal McAloon, the lead singer of The Whistlin’ Donkeys, has shared insights into the band’s journey and future plans.

Fergal, originally an electrician by trade, only transitioned to a full-time music career when The Whistlin’ Donkeys started gaining traction.

The band came together quite naturally, with Fergal and his mate Steve Corrigan, a neighbour, initially playing at Thursday night sessions in their local pub, The Forge Bar in Dromore, Co. Tyrone. “He played guitar and I sang. It sort of just snowballed from then on.”

The duo was later joined by Danny McCormack, Tomás Quinn, Mickey Kerr and Oscar Bradley, forming the current lineup of The Whistlin’ Donkeys.

“We never went down the road of trying to ram ourselves into places we didn’t fit,” Fergal shared. “It was very much word of mouth. Each week, the pub we were performing in was a big deal for us. Then the following week, we’d get an offer to play even bigger pubs, and it just kept going from there.”, reports RSVP Live.

“People used to tell us they’d gotten a babysitter so they could come and see us, and others organised buses to get to the gigs. To us, it was wild that we had that impact on people; we were so grateful. We wanted to see how far we could push it.”

The band members all possess different personalities and musical backgrounds, and they collaborate to forge their own distinctive sound.

“Stevie probably had the same influences as myself, Irish folk. Tom and Mick, the two trad players, would know all the trad tunes and were reared at fleadhs. Danny and Oscar were more into rock music and played in rock bands all their lives. That shows through in the way they play with us.”

The group recently organised their own gig in Newfoundland in Canada, which marked a significant achievement for Fergal.

“We played in an ice hockey arena. We had 4,000 people at it, to think we had a crowd that size on an island off the coast of Canada is just unreal. Moments like that are amazing.”

Their performances in Sydney also remain a standout memory.

Last January, they took to the stage at the Enmore Theatre, a legendary venue where artists such as Bob Dylan have previously performed.

“There were 2,500 people there. The promoter told me he’d never heard a noise like that before, the level of excitement and participation from the Irish crowd was unbelievable. I spoke to people who were at it afterwards, they said they left in tears. It was lovely to bring that bit of home to them, they are so far away.”

Fergal remarks that they never imagined they’d achieve such success.

“Sometimes we can’t believe we are living the dream now.”

Fergal explains the band prefer not to be overly rigid regarding their ambitions, though he hints they’re keen to put out some original material. “That’ll be something nice to tick off the list.”

On a personal level, he’s drawn to touring across American states such as Montana and Colorado.

“I’d love to go somewhere off the beaten track, somewhere we wouldn’t be able to experience otherwise.”

He believes Ireland’s music landscape has transformed, noting that during their early days, country music dominated the scene. “We were a bit of a change from that, bringing a trad and folk sound. There’s a lot more bands with this sort of sound now, so to stand out from the crowd you’ve to work that bit harder. But that’s not a bad thing. It’s good to see Irish music being so popular, it’s had a bit of a comeback.”

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