Louth Village teen Noah stars in new RTE series

“It’s not work when you love what you’re doing,” says Louth teenager Noah Rafferty who stars in RTE’s biggest ever drama commission for young people Louise Lives Large.

The 13-year-old from Louth village got the part in the eight-part series after attending auditions in Dublin, explains his proud mum Nicola Whelan.

Louise Lives Large, which was written by Carol Walsh, tells the story of teenager Louise Edgar who has just got the all-clear after a year of cancer treatment and how, with the help of a schoolfriend, she embraces life again.

“Filming started the day after he finished sixth class in St Mochtas NS and took the whole summer until he started secondary school,” says Nicola.

The series was filmed in Celbridge, Co Kildare and for much of the time, Noah stayed with his granny in Coolock, Dublin as it was closer.

“It was a great experience,” says Noah. “I made loads of new friends. We all had different personalities and we were like one family during filming. We’ve now got a group chat so we can stay in contact.”

He says he found filming very exciting and enjoyed learning his lines and the skills involved for acting in front of a camera.

“He’s self-taught,” says Nicola. “He was taught a few basic chords by his grandfather, but taught himself by watching Youtube videos during lockdown. He always loved music and performing and got into writing songs and it all started from there.”

Noah make his television debut when he was just 10 years old, appearing on the Late, Late Show Toy Show in 2020 as a performer and toy tester. He wowed the studio audience and viewers at home when he performed his own song Rock is the Best Medicine.

During the show, Noah told presenter Ryan Tubridy how he had written the song to cheer people up during the pandemic and he got a huge surprise when The Edge gifted him with a signed guitar.

Noah subsequently released the song as a single to raise funds for the Make A Wish children’s charity, with it making No 1 in the Irish iTunes charts. He also released a video featuring his great-granddad which was recorded in Cloughvalley Day Care Centre in Carrickmacross and the Imperial

Hotel in Dundalk.

Since then, the young rocker appeared as Max in

Toy Show The Musical and played

Quinn in the Emmy Award-winning short film Screechers Reach for Star

Wars Visions by Cartoon Saloon.

Now a first year student at the De La

Salle Secondary School in Dundalk , Noah took part in the school’s famous Class Act talent show in An Tain Arts Centre last autumn.

He is already looking forward to his next venture, which seems him playing Seano in the second series of the RTE kids podcast Cereal on RTEjr radio.

“He’s living the dream,” says his proud mum Nicola.

Louise Live Larges goes out on RTE 2 on Wednesday at 4pm and RTE Player and the full series will be available to stream from Wednesday April 10.