Sex & Drugs
30 Oct 19

In The New Hot Press: The Script’s Danny O’Donoghue Talks Personal Loss and Musical Triumph

The singer was in confessional form as he sat down to talk to Hot Press for this fortnight’s cover story.

With The Script’s sixth album, Sunsets & Full Moons, about to arrive, frontman Danny O’Donoghue gets it all off his chest as he talks to Peter McGoran about Muay Thai boxing, reaching for stadium heights once again, switching off from social media, how he coped with his mother’s passing – and why this record sees the trio getting back to basics…

Elsewhere in this issue, we chat to some of the biggest Irish and international music stars of the moment. Lucy O’Toole sits down with Lankum’s Radie Peat to talk about their long-awaited, highly-acclaimed new album The Livelong Day. Peter McGoran talks to a “very high, very jetlagged” King Princess about working with Mark Ronson, becoming a queer icon and her undying love for Enya. On top of that, Paul Nolan chats to Taylor Hawkins about new music, and working with everyone from Foo Fighters to Paul McCartney.

In the Hot Press interview, we sit down for an extensive chat with Dara O Briain. With Mock The Week about to return, the Irish comedian discusses the show’s remarkable longevity, as well as the shifting landscape of comedy, getting caught in the crossfire of the Danny Baker Twitter storm, and how he approached the gay marriage and abortion referendum campaigns.

In our frontlines section this fortnight, journalist Shamin Malekmian take a deep dive into the much-hyped launch of the government’s Climate Change Plan, and why the project is flawed considering the government are still allowing the felling and pruning of mature trees all over Ireland. Elsewhere, we take a look at the shocking new documentary on conversion therapy in Ireland, and Paul O’Mahony casts an impassioned eye over 125 years of Shelbourne Football Club.

In our film section this fortnight, Roe McDermott chats to Rebecca Ferguson about her darkly compelling role in Doctor Sleep, the eagerly anticipated sequel to Stephen King’s horror classic The Shining.

In our book section, we talk to Sam McBride, whose book Burned: The Inside Story of the Cash-For-Ash Scandal and Northern Ireland’s Secretive New Elite, has become one of the most talked about books of 2019, and has many in DUP quarters running scared.

As if that weren’t enough, we have all the news, reviews and previews you’d expect from Hot Press. We appraise Sinead O’Connor’s magisterial return to the live stage at Vicar Street, and we also have our say on Kanye West’s divisive newest album, Jesus Is King. We also have interviews with Big Thief and Weyes Blood; reviews of Prince’s long-awaited biography and Lankum’s 10/10 new album – and much, much more.

The new Hot Press is in stores October 31. You can order online here: