Midleton trio swing onto Ellen show

FAMILY band Crystal Swing must have felt like Jesus had drop-kicked them through the goal posts of success when they guested on one of America’s most popular chat shows.

Comic and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres gave Midleton’s own pop sensation Crystal Swing one of their biggest career boosts when they appeared as guests on her show.

The Cork trio, from Lisgoold just outside Midleton, performed their song He Drinks Tequila live on air in a show which included Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria Parker on the guest list.

Mary Murray-Burke and her children, Derek and Dervla Burke spoke fondly of their Irish home and, against a backdrop of promotional postcard scenes, presented Ms DeGeneres with a bottle of Midleton Distillery’s finest with a label bearing her name.

“I thought every bottle had my name on it,” DeGeneres joked.

DeGeneres, who will never be presented with a shrinking violet award, gave her Cork guests a light gracious grilling about their act which began as a one-woman band in the person of Mary Murray-Burke.

“When I saw the video I thought y’all were fantastic,” DeGeneres told the trio referring to the video clip of the band she screened on her St Patrick’s Day show. She vowed at the time to get them on the show to perform live and proved to be as good as her word.

“Thank you so much, what a huge honour. Coming on your show has been the biggest highlight of our lives,” said Mary.

“We are absolutely the talking point of Ireland today to be on your show.”

Mary described meeting DeGeneres: “We didn’t meet Ellen before we went on the show. We met her on the show and that was our first contact with her. From the minute we touched her, there was an instant reaction between us. We felt so comfortable with her.”

Derek, 18, and Dervla, 16, are still at school but are hoping for a career in music. Their mother Mary admitted she regrets not following her dreams of becoming a professional singer. “It was my dream as a child to form my own band,” she said.