Derry native’s legacy lives on in daughter’s debut single "The One I Loved So Well"

Mandy Mynx, a talented singer-songwriter with deep roots in Derry, Birr, and Athlone, a.k.a. Amanda O’Doherty Russell, has released her debut single, “The One I Loved So Well.” The track serves as a moving tribute to her father, Derry native Gerald “Doc” O'Doherty, who moved from the Oak Leaf County at age 16 to join the army but remained a lifelong musician.

Written in the years following his 2019 passing, the song draws its title from the famous Derry anthem her father once taught her, celebrating a bond forged in music that carried them from his northern roots to the Midlands.

After his passing, Mandy believed she would never sing again.

“My dad had such a profound impact on my love of music that when I lost him, I thought I’d lost my voice too,” she says. “This song is about grief, but it’s also about love, legacy, and the way music can carry someone forward even after they’re gone.”

In September last year, on the anniversary of her Dad’s passing, Mandy shared a poem she had written in his memory. That moment set in motion a series of events she never imagined possible.

Gerry “Doc” Doherty, originally from Creggan, Derry, passed away in 2019.

Athlone-based producers and musicians Ruairí Broderick and Darren Curtin connected with her words and believed so strongly in her lyrics that they offered to help bring the song to life. Together, they composed, produced, and recorded The One I Loved So Well, carefully shaping the music around the emotion of the story.

“Ruairí and Darren heard something in my words that I wasn’t sure anyone else would,” says Mandy. “They treated the song with such care and respect, and they truly brought my Dad’s memory and my words to life.”

Mandy has worked in David O’Meara’s Pharmacy Plus in Birr, for the past ten years. She recently qualified as a pharmacy technician. “David is also a musician himself,” she says, “and has always been very encouraging of my music, and more recently my songwriting, which I’m extremely grateful for.”

She was born in Athlone and moved to Birr 19 years ago when she married a local man, Gary Russell. The couple have one son, Gerard.

Her musical journey began over 20 years ago when she started out in a two-piece girl group called Mynx. Over time this evolved into a four- and five-piece rock band. “I’ve toured the length and breadth of Ireland,” she says, “playing all types of venues including pubs, weddings and events, and I’ve been privileged to sing with some incredible musicians along the way. I’ve always loved music and started singing from a very young age. My Dad played a huge role in this – he used to teach me songs from lyric books we had at home.

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"Some of the first songs I learned were The Town I Loved So Well, Four Green Fields, Black Is the Colour and The Galway Shawl. As I got older, my love of music continued to grow and evolve. I’ve been heavily influenced by women in music in particular, including Fleetwood Mac (Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie), Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters, Dolores O’Riordan of The Cranberries, and Alanis Morissette, to name a few.”

Her Dad Gerry was born in Creggan, Derry and moved to Athlone at the age of 16 to join the army. He had a deep love of music and taught himself to play the bodhrán. “He played in many local sessions with musicians such as the Henshaw family in Athlone.”

Mandy says her Dad was her “number one fan”, who bought her first sound equipment so she could start performing in public when she was 20, and, in the early days, travelled the length of the country with her. "When he passed away in 2019, I genuinely thought I would never sing again – I felt as though I had lost my voice. Last September, I decided to throw caution to the wind and shared the poem I had written for him, 'The One I Loved So Well'. That moment set in motion a wonderful series of events."

Mandy's song is now released on all major streaming platforms (Spotify/Apple Music/Itunes, Youtube). The One I Loved So Well marks the beginning of Mandy’s new music journey, one rooted in honesty, loss, and the enduring power of music.

This is her poem:

The One I loved so well

If I could see you one more time,
I'd ask you for a song, not mine,
One we used to sing out loud,
Before the quiet, before the cloud.

Your voice was warm, and rich and deep,
A tune that rocked my soul to sleep.
You carried rhythm in your hands,
A gentle beat like shifting sands.

The house would hum when you were near,
Each note a way to draw us near.
A simple song, a melody,
Still plays inside the heart of me.

If I could sit with you once more,
I'd grab the songbooks from the drawer,
We’d turn the pages, smile at lines,
Like nothing ever stole the time.

I’d harmonise and watch you smile,
Forget the years, if just a while.
No words of grief, no heavy air
Just music hanging soft and rare.

But now I sing the parts alone,
A voice that misses yours in tone.
Yet every note I ever knew
Was shaped and shared and sung by you.

You taught me music's truest part
It’s not the pitch, it’s in the heart.
And when I sing, through loss or grace,
I sometimes swear I see your face.

If I could see you one more time,
I'd hold you close and not let go.
We wouldn't need a single word
Just one more song to let you know.

That every note still leads to you,
In every chord, your love remains.
And though you're gone, you're never far
Your song still lives within my name.