'World feels less bright' - fans and musicians on island of Ireland mourn Dolly parting

Dolly Parton's death has been felt across the world since it was announced on Tuesday evening, from her native Tennesse to the village of Ventry in County Kerry, where in 1990 she stopped in for a song and a drink in a rural pub.

A booming country music scene across the island of Ireland has kept the Queen of Country as relevant today as ever, while her renowned Imagination Library initiative has benefitted many families and children here.

From young readers to the the musicians she met and inspired, there have been a chorus of tributes from across Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Londonderry-born singer Máiréad Carlin is one of those who took their cue from the legacy of Dolly, and even had the opportunity to meet someone she described as "beautiful inside and out".

"There was no singer like Dolly," said Carlin, who performs with the all-female Irish musical ensemble Celtic Woman.

"She paved the way for all of us to be individuals and fly our own flag in the way we want to," Carlin told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today.

"It was absolutely amazing meeting her, and she was everything that you could imagine her to be and more.

"She was so tiny in person, even with her heels on. I mean, I'm 5'4" and she was about half my height."

The meeting took place alongside fewer than 10 people ahead of the premiere of 9 to 5 The Musical.

Carlin said: "She pulled us aside and told us to be true to ourselves as artists and not fold to what people expect you to be. She spoke about not putting yourself in a box.

"It was a really special moment because, for those things, when you meet people, it could've been a quick photo and move on, but she really took her time to talk to four women in the music industry."

Irish country music artist Claudia Buckley described the US singer-songwriter as her biggest inspiration.

Buckley said Parton was "a true icon" and that her music had shaped her life and career.

"The world feels a little less bright this morning. She truly was an icon and was one of the best songwriters of our generation.

"She meant so much to so many people, not just as a songwriter and a singer, but as a philanthropist and everything."

Buckley praised the Imagination Library - Parton's literacy charity - and also Parton's work during the pandemic, saying "she donated millions towards Covid-19 research".

"She has done so much for the whole world, and when an icon like Dolly dies, it is hard because you sort of feel like she would never die."

Many will remember her best for her philanthropy, which provided hundreds of millions of children with years-worth of free books.

In 1995 she established a children's literacy programme, inspired by her father Robert Lee Parton's inability to read or write.

In 2019, the Republic of Ireland became the fifth country to be helped by the charity. In Northern Ireland, in 2025, 75 babies registered at Belfast City Hall were signed up for five years of free books.

Father Brian D'Arcy, who is also a broadcaster and a journalist, met Parton many times and interviewed her, with the first interaction coming in 1972.

"She came to Nashville without a change of clothes to being one of the richest women in America and she did that with sheer talent, on her own and not in a greedy sort of way, money wasn't what she was after at all," he said.

"She was a great woman of faith, her mother had taught her bible stories from memory and she wanted to make sure the gifts that she got would be used for the betterment of any one she met."

If you "were lucky enough to meet Dolly, you came away a better person" D'Arcy said.

Joanne McShane, from Culmore in County Derry, is one of the many parents whose young child has benefited from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

She was "very excited" that she and her two-year-old daughter Niamh could be a part of the scheme as she is "very passionate about reading" and is also a big Dolly Parton fan.

She said one of Niamh's favourite books was the very first one they received - Mina and the Big Bite, which she said was highly beneficial for health and emotional development.

"I don't think I would have come across the book had it not been for the Imagination Library so that's what been really nice about it – that it's broadened the experience of books that we might not have had otherwise."

Joanne said it having a book arrive each month with Niamh's name on it was "very special".

"And I can explain to her that Dolly is somebody who is an inspirational figure and we're always looking for female role models – this is somebody who has gone out of her way to leave a legacy for people and has achieved that.

"It's not just that books arrive, it's that she's created a connection within families."

Joanne added that the Imagination Library is a "testament that she was very multi-faceted and that she had a range of abilities".

"Through her singing and songwriting she's obtained a certain amount of wealth and she's used that for good and she's gone out and done something positive in the world."

Children's book author Oliver Jeffers had some of his books selected for the Imagination Library and also had the "great fortune" to meet Dolly Parton in her hometown in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

He described her as "incredibly warm, funny, generous and completely at ease with herself".

"There was no sense of performance to her kindness. She just seemed genuinely interested in people."

He said he told her that "she had probably done more to encourage children to read than most governments".

"Dolly Parton was one of those rare people who made the world feel better simply by being in it."

Meg Fletcher is the regional director of the Imagination Library in Northern Ireland and said they have now lost their "dreamer in-chief".

She said of all the charitable organisations that Parton was involved in, the Imagination Library was the one that was "very much closest to her heart".

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Programme, Fletcher said about 3,000 children in Northern Ireland are receiving books through partnerships with community organisations.

"One of the things that I've been really glad to see in the coverage following on from the news last night is just how much people are celebrating the Imagination Library, the beautiful gift that she's been able to give families."

Dolly Parton impersonator Kirsty Coard described what she does as "the best job in the world".

"Who better to be than Dolly Parton," she said.

"What I love about Dolly is, on a personal note, she's a light to the world, she's an earth angel, she loves everybody for who they are, and just welcomes the world with open arms."

She said she always loved her music and saw her live in 2014 and was "mesmerised by her presence".

"She felt like family, she just felt like somebody you could have a cup of tea with - that's the power of Dolly."

Kirsty said she "cried for hours" when she heard the news of her death as she has been "such a big part of my life for the past twelve years".

In 1990, the patrons of a pub run by Kerry GAA legend Páidí Ó Sé, got the shock of their lives when Dolly Parton, who was holidaying in the area, gave them an intimate, impromptu rendition of one of her her biggest hits, Coat of Many Colours.

She was accompanied by Irish traditional musicians Steve Cooney and Kerry man, Séamus Beagley.

That same night, she was given a Kerry jersey by Ó Sé - a Parton gift, of sorts.

"I have that jersey in a frame, hanging in my basement, which is my recreation room," she told RTÉ Radio 1 in 2023.