Latest news with #Morah
Sunday World
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
It's the end of the Ryan for Morah and Don
Well-known couple have gone separate ways after six-year relationship Late 2FM DJ Gerry Ryan's widow Morah and musician Don amicably parted ways in recent weeks after a six-year relationship. Friends of Morah initially told members of the Dublin social scene about the break-up and Don last night confirmed the news of the separation. 'It's sad when two people drift apart,' said Don, when contacted by the Sunday World to ask about the development. End of the line for Morah Ryan and Don Mescal Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 6th 'I guess Morah and I were on different trajectories at this stage of life. We had some great adventures and they will make great memories. She will always be special to me.' Morah was also contacted for comment. Don – who has written hit songs for the Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Cliff Richard, Sharon Corr, Brett Eldredge and Nathan Carter – began dating Morah six years ago, having previously met her through her daughter Bonnie. Morah recently marked the 15th anniversary of the death of her late husband, Gerry Ryan, the father of her five children. Don with Kirsty Bertarelli She and Don met in London while her daughter Bonnie was recording with the Limerick-born musician there. Four years later, in 2019, Don was invited to perform at a celebration night in Dublin's Gaiety for late TV presenter and musician friend Shay Healy. '[Riverdance producer] John McColgan introduced her [Morah] to me at the after party in the Gaiety and we kind of just clicked again,' he smiles. Morah regularly visited Don at his home on an island in Co. Leitrim. The singer previously told us that his relationship with Morah was 'a match made in heaven'. video 'Morah, apart from being quite beautiful, is wonderfully artistic, a talented sculptor, a poet, and has an eye for incredible design,' he beamed. 'We both have a love for old buildings so it's a match made in heaven; especially as I live in an old church from the 1800s – I suppose she also completely relates to what I do as a writer, and she loves music. Don is due to play a number of gigs across Ireland later this year and is currently recording a song with socialite Kirsty Bertarelli. The pair, who are shooting a video together, are pictured here recently on her private jet on the continent. Kirsty won Miss United Kingdom in 1988 and took part in that year's Miss World. She is a singer-songwriter and is a former wife of billionaire Italian-Swiss businessman Ernesto Bertarelli (her maiden name is Roger). He owned biotech giant Serono until 2007 and twice won the America's Cup yachting race. In the Sunday Times Rich List of 2017, her former husband's family were placed 6th with an estimated fortune of over €13 billion, making her Britain's richest woman. The couple divorced in 2021.
Sunday World
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Don Mescall reveals how he met Gerry Ryan's ex-wife years before relationship began
Smitten songwriter Don Mescall says he's 'very lucky' to have Morah Ryan in his life. Don and Morah have been together for six years Musician Don Mescall has opened up about his love for his partner Morah — and reveals for the first time how he once met her late husband Gerry Ryan. Don — who has written hit songs for the Backstreet Boys, Boyzone, Cliff Richard, Sharon Corr, Brett Eldredge and Nathan Carter — has been in a relationship with Morah Brennan for the past six years and says their relationship is a match made in heaven. 'Morah, apart from being quite beautiful, is wonderfully artistic, a talented sculptor, a poet, and has an eye for incredible design. 'We both have a love for old buildings so it's a match made in heaven,' Don tells the Sunday World. Don has written songs for many artists and bands 'Especially as I live in an old church from the 1800s — I suppose she also completely relates to what I do as a writer, and she loves music. 'That connection with Morah is pretty unique, the appreciation of similar things. We both also love to travel. We spend a lot of time together, it's great. I try go up to Dublin the odd time, of course,' he laughs. 'I'm not a city person though, I find it very hard to get off the island,' says Don, who has a home in a beautiful converted church in Co Cavan. 'This area has a magic to it, we both love the surrounding waters of Quivvy [Lough] where you can escape to another world on the lakes and rivers.' Wednesday marked the fifteenth anniversary of Gerry Ryan's death and Don recalls a chance meeting he once had with the superstar DJ. Morah with the late Gerry Ryan 'It's bizarre in a lot of ways because when all of that happened, I was living in London. So, in essence, I missed all of that and wasn't really aware of the outpouring of sadness when Gerry passed,' Don explains. 'Obviously I knew who he was and how much he was respected. 'I met him once, actually. I flew in from London to do some radio show in RTÉ. I was sitting in one of those many corridors in RTÉ waiting for the presenter and he came out of a studio. I had the guitar with me. 'He stopped and we chatted. He asked if I was gonna give him a tune and I asked if he danced! So we had a bit of a laugh for a couple of minutes.' Limerick-born Don had also met Morah several years before their relationship began when he recorded with her daughter Bonnie, with the trio going to dinner in Chelsea in London. 'Bonnie had invited her mum Morah and I have to say I was quite smitten, but it was a fleeting moment and I suppose the fact that Morah and I at the time lived in two different countries we didn't stay in touch — but I think a connection was made,' he says. Four years later, in 2019, Don was invited to perform at a celebration night in Dublin's Gaiety for late TV presenter and musician friend Shay Healy. Don with Nicky Byrne '[Riverdance producer] John McColgan introduced her [Morah] to me at the after party in the Gaiety and we kind of just clicked again,' he smiles. 'She is the beautiful lady from Dublin who comes to visit me in my little church on the island at the weekends, and how lucky am I?' Don's other love in his life is his 26-year-old daughter Eve, from a previous relationship. Eve, who works in advertising and lives in London, is a regular visitor to Cavan, and he wrote a song called the Lighthouse Keeper about her. 'My relationship with her is just incredible now, changed from father/daughter to best friend and not just a dad. She is a very beautiful and creative person — a credit to her wonderful mother. 'Eve and Morah have a lovely friendship, which is so lovely for me – and of course she has spoken to Morah's children, it's all good. Don with Geri Halliwell 'I suppose we are both quite guarded about our private lives, but Morah has a fantastic family, and she is a great lady. My mother is particularly fond of her,' he says. 'I'm very, very lucky to have her in my life.' Don's mother is remarkably aged 101 and the singer reveals the important role she has played throughout his life. 'She looks like a lady in her 70s or 80s and she's well read and fantastic and funny, she's an amazing woman,' he says. 'We are so incredibly blessed to have her with us and in such great health.' He sadly lost his father when he was just 10 years old, witnessing him die beside him when they attended a hurling match in his native Limerick. 'My dad was very involved in Ahane GAA and was a selector for the team, even made the hurleys,' he recalls. 'There's two things in my parish, the church and the GAA. 'Dad had a heart attack at that match. The world changed for me and my older brother, Tom, who were with him. It was never the same. 'He was in his 50s, a young man. There was 11 of us. I have eight sisters and two brothers, it was in so many ways the most traumatic thing that ever happened to me. 'In memory of my dad, Shay Healy and I wrote a hurling song, Fields of Glory, which was a huge hit for both The High Kings and Eleanor Shanley. 'I had the privilege of hearing the High Kings perform it in Croke Park at an All-Ireland final years back, I remember thinking at the time how proud my Dad might have been.' Don moved to London more than 30 years ago and broke into publishing after he played a support slot for Richie Valens and the legendary singer chose one of his songs, Paradise, to be on one of his albums. Don with Morah But there were dark times too in London with an addiction to alcohol and certain drugs. 'It was a very rock 'n' roll time, I guess, and quite dark in so many ways,' he muses. 'How would you stay clean and keep away from anything when you're surrounding yourself in that atmosphere? It was difficult to not join the party when you lived upstairs but through help and the grace of God I don't touch any of that stuff anymore. 'I haven't taken alcohol in four years, and it feels like the best decision I've ever made.' Don also wrote and produced Christy Dignam's solo album The Man Who Stayed Alive, initially recording in his island studio before relocating to Christy's Dublin home. 'He said to me several times 'these songs could only have been written by someone who has gone through this as well', so at least it was the advantage of being able to write about something that I had gone through,' he says.
