T.R. Dallas has lifted the lid on his idyllic family life at home in Moate and how he met his long-standing wife Therese.
The country music legend is father to two sons, Gary and Don, and he is a grandfather to Ruth, and they recently joined him for a special RSVP Country photoshoot.
The singer, whose real name is Tom Allen, has been married for over 50 years and he can still remember the first time he met Therese and their local wedding in Westmeath.
Read more: T.R. Dallas is recovering well after a hip replacement and his health is in a great place
He told RSVP Country: "I started working as a mechanic when I left school. I worked in the local garage here in town, Moate Motors.
"I knew her cousins and her father, he used to come to the garage. He was a carpenter and he used to help lay the floors for the marquees at gigs.
"I was always in and out of their house. We’ve been married for 50 odd years now."
Their marriage works because there is a lot of understanding between them, especially with his line of work in country music.
T.R. said: "We got married in Rosemount out the road here and we had our reception in The Royal Hotel in Athlone. There are ups and downs in life and we worked our way through them all.
"If I came home and said I had to go to Hong Kong tomorrow, she would ask me what time I was going and if I needed many shirts packed. She doesn’t like the limelight, needless to say because she’s not in any of the photographs here today.
"It’s not an easy life as a family with me on the road, but it’s no different to the guy in the factory or the guy in the long-distance lorry. I live in the middle of Ireland, which is handy."
T.R. tried to be there as much as he could when his kids were growing up.
He added: "A couple of hours takes you a long way. I came home every night and I could drop the lads to school or collect them again.
"The one thing I missed out when they were growing up was taking them to football or music lessons. I missed out on parties, weddings and family get-togethers."
The Westmeath native's two sons, Gary and Don, and his granddaughter, Ruth, joined hiom for a photoshoot, which was very special.
He said: "Three generations, yeah. This is the first time we’ve done something like this together.
"Don has the pub down the street in town and Gary lives in Westport. Ruth is in and out of here regularly, it’s great to have her and she’s lots of fun."
Ruth is his only grandchild, so she must be spoiled rotten? "I spoil her more than the rest of them. She’s very good natured and she never looks for anything.
"She’s learning the tin whistle and the flute. She plays GAA too. Two important things that should be highly promoted in school are music and sport."
Sadly, the Irish country music scene lost one of the greats in Paddy Cole recently.
T.R. said: "Paddy Cole, Brendan Bowyer, Brendan O’Brien, Dickie Rock, Big Tom and Joe Dolan paved the way for the rest of us. They were great singers and great entertainers."
Read the full interview with T.R. Dallas and see all the pictures in this issue of RSVP Country - on shelves now.
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