Irish child prodigy puts talent to use for typhoon charity

A half-Irish child prodigy, who astonished scientists with his abilities in chemistry, biology, mathematics, and computer programming, is now doing the same for the world of entertainment.

Ainan Cawley, 14, whose roots go back to Mayo, has contributed a musical composition and piano performance to a charity album for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan, which claimed more than 6,000 lives in the Philippines.

He is the son of Irishman Valentine Cawley and Singaporean Syahidah Osman, an ambidextrous portrait artist. Born in Singapore, Ainan exhibited precocious abilities from a very young age, crawling at four months and walking upright at six months, a feat repeated by younger brothers Fintan and Tiarnan.