Danny O'Donoghue has released The Script's new album, The User's Guide to Being Human, after quitting alcohol, cigarettes, and caffeine in a single day. The album, released yesterday, is the band's first record made without guitarist Mark Sheehan, who died three years ago in an American hospital following a short illness.
O'Donoghue said the presence of Sheehan, his best friend since age 12, remained strong throughout the recording process. "Obviously Mark isn’t here but every single person in that room had an imaginary Mark on their shoulders telling them when they were getting stuff wrong - never when you are doing something right," O'Donoghue said, laughing. He added that he played Sheehan's red hummingbird guitar on the album to feel close to his late bandmate.
The two musicians grew up together like brothers, supporting each other through parent losses, heartbreak, and industry struggles. They climbed the ladder of success together, from their early days in the boyband MyTown to working as LA songwriters and rising to global fame with The Script.
Following Sheehan's death, O'Donoghue realized his rock and roll lifestyle and heavy drinking had to end. "I feel better now, 100 per cent," he said. "Not to dog on people who actually drink, but you’re poisoning yourself. It’s not good to drink alcohol. I know the ads would like you to think differently but I gave up alcohol, cigarettes and caffeine all in the one day. And I feel so much better for it. I am here, I’m present. I’m not just present for me, I’m present for my wife."
O'Donoghue explained that alcohol previously served as a crutch that delayed proper grieving. "I’m present for my emotions and present to grieve properly because if you’re trying to grieve and using alcohol and facing grief, you’re just pushing it and kicking it down the road," he said. "Everybody goes through hard times and people pass away. This is just part of life that you have to get used to. But if you don’t, it’ll slowly kill you." He noted that music and his new love of boxing act as therapeutic outlets: "It’s the same pot and same cauldron. But I feel it’s like letting out a little bit of air out of a tyre before they burst. So yeah, giving up alcohol was probably one of the best things I’ve ever done. Well, sorry, getting married was the best thing I’ve ever done. Giving up alcohol is the second best thing."
Sobriety and Emotional Truth
While O'Donoghue acknowledged problematic drinking, he described alcohol as a symptom of deeper underlying pain rather than the cause itself. "I wouldn’t say I was an addict in the strong terms, but I would definitely say in the loose terms. There are a lot of people who’ve got their badges, you know what I’m saying? I just joined the club. I signed up and saw the flyer and I walked in and had a few meetings. That was it," he said. He added that drinking originally allowed him to speak about past childhood and family trauma that felt otherwise paralysing.
Although O'Donoghue never used hard drugs, he previously smoked weed and believed substances were necessary to release emotions and write songs. "I used to think that I couldn’t write songs if I wasn’t after having a smoke or if I wasn’t drunk. But it’s all bulls**t. It’s stuff the addict in you tells yourself so that you don’t stop," he said, describing alcohol as a gateway to poor choices: "Every bad decision I’ve ever made has started off with 'Let’s go for one.'"
O'Donoghue described himself as a high-functioning alcoholic whose productive studio work went unchecked due to a lack of workplace guardrails. "I wasn’t an everyday drinker and I also didn’t use it to mask how my everyday life was," he said. "It was more, that if there were things going on in my life, if something bad was happening, I would use alcohol as a crutch to let off a bit of stress or to shield me from what was happening." On days off, he would drink heavily on Friday, party Saturday, and sleep off the effects on Sunday before returning to work.
Introducing the album to journalists at the Sugar Club, the 46-year-old singer shared mini drama videos featuring himself as a bartender at a pub named Sheehans. O'Donoghue explained that sobriety replaced fake confidence with genuine clarity. "Now I know the mechanism is to be truthful," he said of songwriting. "You don’t need alcohol to be truthful. Now the truth actually comes quicker and it comes sooner. You go to the well and it’s there immediately." He added that therapy helped him take direct control of his work, enabling him to look people in the eye during interviews and remain focused.
Marriage and Human Connection
The theme of authentic human connection runs through the new album, which addresses the impact of modern technology on relationships. O'Donoghue credited his marriage last year to long-term partner and events manager Anais Naing with bringing stability and peace after past heartbreaks. He expressed confidence that their love will last forever.
"Marriage and commitment closes all those doors and it leaves you with one and there’s two people walking through that door," O'Donoghue said. "So all the options, all the what ifs are just completely gone. And then you can focus on the fact that there’s two people who are really one. Me and my missus we’re a unit and then you can start planning for the future. And once you have that there’s like a natural order to that of just having the person you’re supposed to be with just the two of you and then planning for your future planning for kids. Where you’re going live, where you’re going to spend your life - all these things just feel so natural and so calming to a chaotic mind." He added with a laugh that commitment exists in God's eyes, alongside government recognition.
Band Lineup and AI Campaign
Addressing the absence of original drummer Glen Power from the new record, O'Donoghue confirmed Power has stepped back for the moment. "He’s stepped away for the minute, so we’re still working through things right now and how that’s going to look in the future," O'Donoghue said. "But for the minute, we were engaged with different musicians for this album. So we’ll continue in turn and promote and as it is until things get sorted out."
The Script first achieved international success 18 years ago with their breakout hit The Man Who Can't Be Moved. O'Donoghue explained that he writes songs relevant to his own age group, connecting with listeners who share similar experiences: "I try to write what’s relevant to me and how I feel. There are millions of people who are growing up with me and I’m trying to speak about me and then people will say 'I feel exactly the same'. Which is another way of knowing we are all the same on the inside."
O'Donoghue also discussed his recent visit to the Dail to campaign for copyright rules against AI scraping. While financially secure, he expressed concern for smaller artists whose creativity could be destroyed by technology. "I’d love to campaign for us to play at least 60 per cent homegrown Irish music on our own radio stations for the same reason," he said, citing mandatory French radio quotas of 60 to 70 per cent that boosted France's live and hip-hop scenes. "Why are we giving all these spots in music away to other artists? We are just haemorrhaging money everywhere. And not putting that money back into where it’s needed the most in Ireland."
The singer warned against screen addiction, noting that app developers create dopamine hits to capture user focus. When the interviewer could not recall the last three Instagram videos watched, O'Donoghue noted, "That that has to be frightening to you. It’s frightening to me because I remember the last three things I talked about with my wife. So get off that phone and start talking to people because you’ll remember it."
The User’s Guide To Being Human is out now. The Script are scheduled to perform at Dublin's 3Arena on October 30 and 31, with tickets on sale via ticketmaster.ie.
