Nicky Byrne | |
---|---|
Byrne in 2016
|
|
Background information | |
Birth name | Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne, Jr. |
Born |
Dublin, Ireland |
9 October 1978
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) |
|
Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 1995–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | Westlife |
Website | www.nickybyrne.com |
Nicholas Bernard James Adam Byrne, Jr. (born 9 October 1978) is an Irish singer-songwriter, radio and TV presenter, dancer, and former semi-professional footballer, best known for being a member of Irish music band Westlife; he was the band's oldest member. Before his music career, he played professional football, representing Republic of Ireland at several junior levels. Since then he has had a successful TV and radio presenting career. His wife Georgina is the daughter of former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and they have twin sons called Rocco Bertie Byrne and Jay Nicky Byrne and a daughter called Gia.
On 7 September 2012, it was announced that Byrne would be a contestant for the tenth series of Strictly Come Dancing. He was the ninth contestant to be eliminated. He was ranked number two on Ireland's Sexiest Man of 2014. After RTÉ internally chose him to represent Ireland, he released the song "Sunlight" and performed it in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 competition in on May 12, 2016, but failed to advance to the May 14 final.
Byrne was a footballer and played for Home Farm and St. Kevins Boys in North Dublin. He became a professional player, and joined Leeds United as a goalkeeper in 1995, and was a squad member of the FA Youth Cup winning team of 1997. He played for Leeds for two years, leaving when his contract expired in June 1997. He played in a reserve game for Scarborough F.C. and in a trial game with Cambridge United before returning to join Dublin club Shelbourne. He then signed for Cobh Ramblers playing 15 games, then St. Francis F.C., all in Ireland's League of Ireland.