Happy Birthday Niall Horan!
Mullingar lad Niall Horan turns 30 today! The now global superstar first shot to fame and onto our screens when he appeared as a contestant on the X Factor when he was just 16.
That was 2010 and Niall's life was to change irrevocably, leaving behind his school days in CBS Mullingar, to join four others and become part of the band, One Direction.
It was the magic touch of X Factor judge Simon Cowell who put Niall, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Zayn Malik together, and while they came third in the competition, One Direction went on to sell millions of records, having five number one albums in Ireland alone, and selling out arenas around the world.
His first song after going solo was This Town, a tribute to Mullingar and the young love he had when he lived here.
In fact, Niall’s 2012 and 2013 Brit Awards are amongst the memorabilia on show at Mullingar's Greville Arms Hotel.
Niall's first solo album Flicker was released in 2017 and charted at number one in Ireland, Canada and the US. This was followed by his second album Heartbreak Weather, which went straight to number one on the UK and Irish album charts.
Earlier this year Horan released his third album, The Show, and recently headlined Electric Picnic in Stradballey, County Laois.
“I’m from an hour up the road – a small town called Mullingar – and here I am in front of about 70,000 people..." said the emotional singer on stage at EP. ""I wish I could put into words how this felt, From Patrick Street, Mullingar, to this.
"This is a country with less than five million people and the noise we make worldwide is absolutely insane. And as long as you would like me to, I'm happy to fly the flag for our little country all over the planet."
He is now a coach on the US Voice, and last year was named one of the richest celebrities in the UK and Ireland under 30 by Heat Magazine.
It's estimated his net worth at £58.4m (€67.9m). His business interests include Modest! Golf Management, which represents stars such as Leona Maguire and Tyrrell Hatton, and he also owns Limerick-based Neon Haze Music Ltd, as well as being an investor in Irish brand Gym+Coffee.
Early next year, Niall will embark on one of his biggest arenas tours to date.
The Show Live on Tour starts in Belfast SSE Arena on Februrary 20, followed by five sold-out shows in Dublin's 3Arena.
In the following eight months, Horan will play all over the UK and Europe, including London, Paris, Munich, and Madrid, before taking his tour to New Zealand, Australia, Tokyo, Hollywood Florida, Nashville, New York and Toronto in Canada.
He then returns to the northern hemisphere to play two days in August at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, with the tour ending in London's O2 on September 3, 2024.