Danny O’Donoghue Opens Up About Bandmate Mark Sheehan’s Death
6/15/20261 hr 2 min
The Script's Danny O'Donoghue gets brutally honest about grief, PTSD, and what it really took to get sober. Following the devastating loss of his bandmate and best friend Mark Sheehan, Danny opens up about hitting rock bottom over a dark Christmas in Dublin and the brutal reality of quitting it all cold turkey.
This discussion tracks the rollercoaster of Danny's career, from a failed €15 million record deal at 16 to sobbing on his knees when they finally hit number one. He also shares the lightbulb moment of a dyslexia diagnosis at 43, which reframed a lifetime of anxiety and fear.
It's a testament to perseverance and a beautiful look at finding collective truth through our darkest moments.
This episode covers the following themes: Grief, Addiction, Rejection, Anxiety, Recovery
The Script's new album: 'The User's Guide To Being Human' will be released on 14th August 2026. Pre-order/Pre-save here: https://thescript.lnk.to/UGTBHPR
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Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMatt Willis· Host0:00
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Danny O'Donoghue· Guest0:04
We were both doing really well. Three kids, wife, beautiful family. Just for that to just be whipped away, bang, gone now. What am I gonna do when the best part of me was always you? It's unfair. I'm angry at Mark now, which is weird. Why am I angry? I'm angry at him for not being here. When my dad died, I had Mark, but now Mark- Yeah ... passed away, I don't have anybody. I won't know real love till I've loved and I've lost. He wrote that verse, and now I'm singing it about him.
Matt Willis· Host0:29
Today I'm very, very excited to welcome The Script's Danny O'Donoghue to the fucking studio.
Danny O'Donoghue· Guest0:40
Yeah, let's go.
Matt Willis· Host0:41
[laughs] Come on in. It's amazing.
Danny O'Donoghue· Guest0:42
How are you? Good to be here, dude.
Matt Willis· Host0:43
I mean, I think we need to maybe address the elephant in the room.
Danny O'Donoghue· Guest0:45
Oh, yeah, the b- giant, um- The giant black eye. [laughs] The giant black eye. So I was, yeah, I was sparring a- a- an hour and a half ago.
Matt Willis· Host0:51
Yeah.
Danny O'Donoghue· Guest0:52
I was like, "Oh, I'll get myself all fresh before I come down and hit the podcast." And, um, yeah, I let my hands down, dropped down in round seven, and I got absolutely pinged. I, I was down with the pros this morning as well, so I g- I just got absolutely hammered. It was great.
Matt Willis· Host1:04
I mean, this was an hour and a half before he came to record the podcast as well, so this was like a- Yeah, I also sent a picture ahead- Yeah, yeah ...
Danny O'Donoghue· Guest1:09
just to make sure. I was like, "Look, it's bad, but, uh, if you want it, you know, we can postpone it to another day."
Matt Willis· Host1:14
I love it. I love it. I love it.
Danny O'Donoghue· Guest1:14
But, yeah, so I'm fine. Like I said, I'm, I'm cool to do it if you are. It's no problem.
Matt Willis· Host1:17
Oh, a- absolutely, absolutely. Mate, well, I'm so happy to have you on. Thank you so much for coming on.
Danny O'Donoghue· Guest1:19
I'm here bruises and all, warts and all, you know?
Matt Willis· Host1:21
Can I, can I say something? But I've obviously been, uh, an admirer of you from, from afar for a while, right? And I kind of like... And your, your band's name is someone that comes up in my band's