Daniel O'Donnell records Shunie Crampsey song to raise awareness of dementia

Country music legend Daniel O’Donnell has recorded a poignant song written by Culdaff songwriter Shunie Crampsey to help raise awareness of dementia.

Times Change, Nothing Lasts Forever, has been released in the run up to the Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s annual tea day on Thursday, May 1.

“Majella's mother Marian had dementia before she passed away,” Daniel recalled of his mother-in-law. “Because of that, you become very aware not just of how it affects the person, but the whole family circle.

“Everyone with dementia or Alzheimer's, or who had somebody that they loved who is affected, will relate to this.

“It's not just the dementia patient that's robbed, it's everyone who loves them too. You're robbed of the person.”

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No stranger to dealing with weighty issues, songwriter Shunie Crampsey says the song is particularly personal to him and his neighbours as it's based on two people he knew who developed dementia and whose painful, slow decline he witnessed at first-hand.

“The song is loosely based around two friends of mine who were affected by the disease,” Shunie told the Inishowen Independent. “A lot of the words and lyrics in the song are true, drawn from my personal experience of seeing these people struggling with the long goodbye.

“With Alzheimer’s, you keep losing the person, losing a little of them every day for years.

“It’s very difficult and confusing for the people who are dear to them - they have the person and yet they don’t have them. They’re there in body, but not in mind.

“It’s so hurtful and sad for people.”

Shunie is a renowned song-writer and more than a dozen Irish country artists have covered his songs, everyone from Foster and Allen to Mike Denver and Big Tom. American artists TJ McCloud and Marty Haggard, son of the legendary Merle Haggard, have also recorded Shunie’s work, the latter in a duet with Ryan Turner.

Mr Crampsey wrote Times Change, Nothing Lasts Forever some years ago,and with Seamus O’Donnell of VideoTech, shot a very powerful video.

He says his song elicits strong emotions in those who attend his concerts.

“When I do a show, I could spend an hour with a queue of people standing waiting to tell me their story of how Alzheimer’s affected their loved ones,” he says. “I’ve no doubt Daniel will experience that tenfold.

“They’ve often got tears in their eyes, but they just want to tell their story.

“I’m sure they’ve told it many times to their families, but they can get so emotional when they tell it to a stranger, especially one that seems to recognise their pain.”

Tea day

The 31st Alzheimer’s Tea Day will take place on Thursday, May 1 across Ireland, and Daniel O’Donnell is encouraging people to organise or attend one.

“Whether your tea day is for two, six, ten, twenty or a hundred it doesn't matter how many, you can raise money for the society,” he said. “Solidarity is a great thing. When people stand together, it's hard to fall apart.”

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This year’s campaign, themed “Tea is the Best Time of the Day”, encourages communities to gather, share a cup of tea, and help raise awareness and funds for people living with dementia, as well as their carers and families.

More than 64,000 people are living with dementia in Ireland, and the number of people with the condition will double in the next 20 years to over 150,000 by 2045.

Register now on www.teaday.ie to receive a free organiser's toolkit, packed with everything you need to host a tea day.

Funds raised through Alzheimer's Tea Day support critical services like the Alzheimer's National Helpline, daycare programs, home care, family carer training, social clubs, and Alzheimer's cafes.