Denise’s red rock sees Dayl sent home
Tears for singer as he makes shock exit
‘Like a brother and a best friend’
DAYL Cronin had tears in his eyes last night as he failed to make the final of Dancing With The Stars following a dramatic penultimate show.
The former Hometown band member ended up in the danceoff following the public vote, and Loraine Barry chose to send the Red Rock actress Denise McCormack to the final instead of the young singer.
And Cronin – who was one of the show’s most consistent performers – admitted to the Irish Daily Mail that he was ‘gutted’ to get the boot.
‘I wanted it so bad,’ he said of the Dancing With The Stars trophy.
Despite scoring a more than respectable 54 points for his romantic rumba and jazzy quickstep with his partner Ksenia Zsikhotska, the singer faced an injured McCormack in the dance-off.
And after Julian Benson plumbed for Denise and Brian Redmond backed Dayl, in the end it came down to the deciding vote of head judge Loraine Barry, who chose to send the Red Rock actress through to next week’s final, with Aoibhín Garrihy and Aidan O’Mahony.
It was a St Patrick’s week end themed show and along with a special guest appearance from Riverdance, the remaining contestants performed to home grown hits from the Irish music charts.
Without doubt the most challenging week of the series, each celebrity was assigned two opposing styles of dance.
And Tipperary-born Dayl, 23, was visibly emotional after making his exit. ‘I’m just gutted, because I wanted it so bad,’ he told the Irish Daily Mail.
‘Someone had to go and everyone there deserves a spot and I wish them all the best for the future, but I’m just gutted.
‘There must have been just a hair in it. I felt like I gave my best performance but that’s just how it goes.’
Although he was bottom of the judges leaderboard with 44 points, new father Aidan O’Mahony showed he remains a clear favourite with the public after making it through to the grand finale.
And Dayl’s tipping the Kerryman to win the glitterball trophy. ‘All of them are amazing and every single one of them deserves it, but for me, it’s Aidan,’ he said. ‘I love him to pieces and I wish him all the best.
‘He has been like a brother and a best friend to me. You wouldn’t think we would get on with the age difference but we are just best friends.’
It was a definite case of no pain, no gain for Denise, as she bravely danced through a groin sprain to earn her place in the final next week.
There were fears for the Ifta winner just hours before going on air as she sustained the injury yesterday morning. During her first on-camera practice she pulled a muscle and was forced to sit on the sidelines for the remainder of the dress rehearsal.
She then spent the lead up to the show with the resident physiotherapist.
‘It happened during a lift and I felt it for the rest of the dance,’ she said. ‘It’s not serious but would usually take a week or
two of rest. Usually you’d have the dress rehearsal to go through things and I didn’t have that.’
It’s safe to say it was Aoibhín Garrihy’s night, as she was awarded six straight tens, claiming 60 points overall.
You could hear a pin drop as the former Fair City star and Vitali Kozmin gave a stunning display in contemporary ballroom to the sounds of Sinéad O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U.
Her second routine, a classic Charleston, was equally as enthralling. ‘It had passion, personality, performance and the razzle dazzle pizzazz,’ judge Benson said.
In addition to the competitive action, the audience was treated to the famous steps of global phenomenon Riverdance.
It took the crew 30 minutes to lay a special sound-enhancing floor for the troupe, who are part of the ‘flying squad’ and are not currently on tour with the rest of the company in the US.