The Goo 1
Words: Eugene Connelly SEP '25 JOCK MCDONALD – PU
NK ROCK PROVOCATEUR So who was this recently departed mystery Donegal man, so lovingly eulogised throughout the media since he was so unceremoniously, shockingly, taken by his beloved Atlantic waters on Saturday 25th July? If you knew, you knew. But for those who didn’t, or even those who have had just a passing interest in his name, here is a potted history of the great man. He was a larger-than-life character who I have been privileged to know for the past 33 years. I first came across Jock in person at the Dandelion Market of all places, where he hopped up on stage at a Strougers gig one Saturday afternoon in 1979. He looked so exotic with his shock of wild, spikey blond hair and he was wearing a jacket only, no t-shirt underneath! For some reason, this punky omission made as lasting an impression on me as his unfettered locks and charismatic exuberance. I don’t think I had ever seen someone with so much self-confidence. He and his accomplice accompanied The Strougers out to Howth Edros Community Centre the next day to join U2 for a gig. Apparently Bono mistook Jock’s 4b2s bass player for Sid Vicious. Of course, they never let on. Pig Youth Martin Glover would go on to become a world-renowned producer, play bass in Killing Joke and join forces with Paul McCartney in their band The Firemen. I had known of this mythical punk rock Svengali character through the weekly pages of the London music papers. He was seemingly always up to some comical jape, winding up all and sundry. It made for great reading and usually involved Scotland Yard at some point. There are so many incredible stories of Jock’s escapades, seemingly with his permanent posse of London Irish hooligans in tow. I won’t even try to go into any details here (I’ll save them for the upcoming biography), they are all so audacious, so wildly entertaining and often shocking in their audaciousness. To do them justice, even one tale of his derring-do would take up all my wordcount allowance for this abridged tribute to my old friend. Family History Jock was born Patrick O’Donnell in Glenties, Donegal, during an unspecified 1950s year. He was the eldest brother of Martin and Gerry. The O’Donnells moved to Dublin in the 1960s, where they lived on the South Circular Road for a number of years while their parents worked in St James’s Hospital. Even back then Jock was a scenester where he befriended the likes of Skid Row – Brush and Philo in particular, who would later feature in his London punk rock football team. A star player, according to Jock, Johnny Rotten could only manage the role of waterboy as his co-ordination was always compromised by his, eh, lifestyle choices. Back in 1980s Dublin, Jock was a young hair stylist with Toni & Guy on Dawson Street. It was a glamorous profession at the time, or so he tells it. He also pursued a serious career in football, winning trophies with both St Francis Boys and later with Dundalk FC. The family upped and left for Scotland a few years later, settling in Clydebank, Glasgow where they changed their name from the Catholic Irish O’Donnell to the less conspicuous generic name of McDonald. It was the need to find work in the notoriously sectarian shipyards of the Upper Clyde that led to the birth of his notorious nom-de-plume and stage name. Patsy O’Donnell would travel down to London - the city of bright lights 35