Édaein O’Connell: A stranger in a pub compared me to The Bird O’Donnell – younger me would have been crushed

Recently I found myself in O’Donoghue’s bar in Dublin singing for some Australians. They were friends of a friend. As the evening progressed, my singing got progressively louder and more obnoxious. At some point, a sharply dressed man joined our table and introduced himself as an entrepreneur, ­casually mentioning he was earning well into the six figures. He seemed particularly interested in my two friends, complimenting each of them on their hair.