Singing the blues: X Factor star Mary Byrne earns €12.60 an hour
The latest accounts show that revenue at the Ballyfermot woman’s firm, Hetton Investments Ltd, plummeted by more than 50% — going from €55,113 to €26,223, as record sales dried up in 2013.
The €26,223 income equates to an hourly rate of €12.60 on a 40-hour week for the year.
Ms Byrne was plucked from obscurity after millions watched her scintillating performances in the 2010 X Factor competition.
The 55-year-old single mother had worked at check-out No 40 at Tesco’s Ballyfermot store for more than a decade before reaching the semi-final of the hit ITV show.
Quickly after the show, Ms Byrne signed a record deal with Sony to launch her solo music career.
However, the accounts show that the firm’s accumulated profits dropped by more than €45,000 — going from €125,925 to €80,328 — in the 12 months to the end of December 2013.
The figures also show that Ms Byrne’s cash pile at the end of 2013 stood at €97,075, which is down from the €128,399 in place at the end of 2012.
Ms Byrne has been busy performing at gigs around the country over the Christmas and new year period.
She also launched a new album in 2014, entitled Magic of the Musicals.
A spokeswoman for Ms Byrne said yesterday that “Mary chose to return to live in Ireland, instead of staying in the UK, where she could have earned far more”.
The spokeswoman acknowledged that Ms Byrne’s career “will never be at the high it was immediately post X Factor”, but she said the singer “is enjoying her life and music, working at her own pace, which is her choice, while she travels to Europe and USA regularly”.
She explained: “There has been a general downturn in the music industry in Ireland. Mary took a lot of time off to record an album and work on other projects. She now enjoys her time singing and pursuing other avenues, including a lot of TV and radio, and doing a lot of charity work.”
In a press interview last year, Ms Byrne confirmed that 2013 “was very quiet for me”.
She also admitted: “I work mainly at nights and there are times, especially during the day, that I really miss being on the tills.”
She said: “I miss the camaraderie and the friends and chatting to the customers and the craic we used to have.”
