The legendary moment Dolly Parton sang in Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Co Kerry has been shared widely online in the wake of her death.
The music world is in mourning following the country music icon’s passing, which was announced on Tuesday by her family.
Over 30 years ago, during a holiday to Ireland, Dolly, having randomly called in, ended up singing in Kerry legend Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Dingle.
Dolly appeared at the pub in 1990 while holidaying in the Kingdom with an Irish friend, when she was persuaded to sing for the stunned locals.
Introduced by the former Kerry captain in Irish, Dolly was accompanied by musicians Steve Coogan and Seamus Begley, who joined her in an acoustic version of her ballad Coat of Many Colours.
In honour of the visit, Páidí -who captained Kerry to his seventh All-Ireland championship five years earlier – gave Dolly a brilliant welcome present: the jersey he wore at Croke Park during the 1985 final.
Páidí told Dolly that it ‘hadn’t been washed since,’ to which she quipped: ‘I was hoping it still had some sweat left in it.’
She later revealed that she had held on to a Kerry jersey given to her by Ó Sé that night, and she had kept it framed at her home ever since.
‘I have that jersey in a frame, hanging in my basement, which is my recreation room,’ she said.
An amazing video of Dolly Parton singing one of her most famous songs in Páidí Ó Sé’s pub in Ventry Co. Kerry 🇮🇪 in 1990
How did Páidí pull that coup off#RIPDolly pic.twitter.com/sYBawY4ryD— Fran Mallon (@FranMallon1) August 25, 2026
Parton said people would regularly ask about the jersey hanging there.
‘I’m very, very proud of that,’ she said. ‘When I brought it home, I put that up on the wall, and it has been there ever since.’
Parton also previously spoke movingly about Sinéad O’Connor after he death.
‘I always felt connected to her,’ she said.
She described O’Connor as ‘very, very sweet’ and said she had been saddened by her death.
Parton also spoke about her admiration for O’Connor as a singer, saying her experiences could be heard in her music.
‘Sometimes that makes the best singers, people that live what they are singing about,’ she said.
