Feystown man is The Voice of Ireland star

A Feystown joiner has struck the right note after wowing Ireland’s top singers to progress to the live auditions of The Voice of Ireland.
Feystown man Kieran McKillop, who is competing in The Voice of Ireland. INLT-09-709-conFeystown man Kieran McKillop, who is competing in The Voice of Ireland. INLT-09-709-con
Feystown man Kieran McKillop, who is competing in The Voice of Ireland. INLT-09-709-con

Local man Kieran McKillop, a former pupil of St Killian’s Garron Tower school, was originally on Saturdays singer Una Foden’s team.

However, following his recent battle against team-mate Patrick Donoghue, Kieran was “stolen” by former S Club 7 star Rachel Stevens.

Kieran is now eagerly awaiting the live shows, when he will perform in front of a TV audience of thousands.

The 23-year-old told The Times: “I thought entering it would be a bit of craic and I got my mate John Agnew to help me with the forms for the national audition.

“Thousands of people entered and then I had to go down to Dublin and perform a couple of times in front of the coaches, production team and musicians before I got to go on TV.

“Each time they wheedle it down a bit more until they are left with the last 36.”

Kieran, who also works on his family’s farm, says that he was “over the moon” to be selected for the TV auditions. He continued: “I wasn’t that nervous until I was standing in front of the judges, which was a great experience. I picked Una as she was in The Saturdays and she’s not the worst looking!”

Kieran and the other contestants were then sent to Castle Bellingham where they were paired up with the singer they would “battle” against.

Kieran explained: “Patrick was from Dublin and he was completely different to me. We got one-one-one time with Una and a pianist. Una’s so down to earth, it’s so comfortable and easy to talk to her and we got a couple of renditions of her songs as well as guidance.”

While Una chose Patrick to remain on her team, Kieran was “stolen” by fellow judge Rachel Stevens for her team. He is currently looking forward to the live shows, which he anticipates will be “even more nerve-wracking.”

However, the local man is counting on the support of family and friends. He revealed: “I didn’t tell anyone except my Mum, Dad and John that I was going in for it and when everyone found out they were ecstatic. My Mum sings so that must be where I get it from.

“I have had a lot of friend requests on Facebook and I am going up and down to Dublin two or three times a week.

“I would like to thank Rachel for picking me and I’ve been told there will be a lot of buses coming down to support me from Antrim!”

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