On 5 October 1978, she married hotelier Damien Scallon at St Eugene's Cathedral in Derry, where her parents were wed. The couple first met in 1970 at his Ardmore Hotel in Newry, where a reception took place following a street-naming ceremony in nearby Hilltown, to honour her recent Eurovision success. A copy of the Dana Place street sign hangs in their kitchen. After a three-week honeymoon in Grenada, the newlyweds set up home in Rostrevor, County Down. They have four children: Grace, born in Dublin on 18 January 1981; Ruth, born in Newry on 18 August 1983; John James, born in London on 5 November 1984; and Robert, born in Newry on 25 August 1989.
The Scallon's currently live in Claregalway, County Galway.