Boyle describes Mayo as her spiritual singing home
Yesterday Irish fans of the unlikely Britain’s Got Talent sensation were given another reason to show their support after it emerged that the Scottish singer has family roots in Ireland.
Fresh from binning her bushy eyebrows and tangled hair, the Scottish celebrity has also undergone a green repackaging, confirming that her mother’s family are originally from the north-west of Ireland and it was when she was in Mayo that people heard her soaring voice for the first time.
Pictures from a 1982 holiday to Donegal with her parents, Bridget and Patrick, show the then 21-year-old outside her maternal ancestral home.
And despite claims that claiming Irish roots is part of a PR exercise to ensure her profile remains high, the 47-year-old has also said her spiritual singing home is Knock in Co Mayo — where she returns every year with the annual Legion of Mary pilgrimage.
“When I watched the judges’ faces it reminded me of what I was like when I first saw Susan singing, absolutely blown away by the quality of the singing and by that fantastic voice,” said local Knock priest Fr Basil Clark.
In an interview earlier this week, Ms Boyle said she was happy with the way she looked, but still felt scarred by taunts she suffered as a youngster.
“The ones who were mean to me then are now nice to me. I still see the kids I went to school with because we all live in the same area,” she explained.
“They accept me now. And look at me — I’ve had the last laugh.”
Ms Boyle is among the favourites to walk away with the show’s £100,000 (€110,700) jackpot, and said she would be humbled to perform in front of the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance — another part of the winner’s prize.
