Do you want to buy a few chickens? *
*What Toy Show’s Sheamie asked the MoS
SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Toy Show sensation Sheamie said he ‘barely had time to eat my fry’ yesterday morning as he met people looking for pictures after his star turn.
‘A load of people came over asking me “Can I take a picture with you?”’ the future ‘performing block-layer’ from Kilfenora, Co. Clare said.
‘A load of young ones were taking a load of pictures. All I know is I won’t be stuck for a few beours.’
His success on the show came after his seemingly wise-beyondhis-years chat with new host Patrick Kielty. He started off by pointing out that they had something in common – both were on their first Toy Show – which got a round of crowd applause and a chuckle of relieved delight from the host.
Prior to the big night, Sheamie told the Irish Mail on Sunday, he was asked a few times if he would be watching the Toy Show.
‘I said “I’ll be on it.” And one of them was saying when she was walking away, “He should be in school, that’s where he should be.”’
It was not a sentiment shared by anybody who saw him spill the beans on how many days off his dad had taken to build the Lego that Sheamie was toy testing.
The young concertina player told the Irish Mail on Sunday the secret behind his distinctive hairstyle.
‘I’ve an Australian hairdresser and she knows all about the mullet,’ he said, before asking the MoS: ‘Do you want to buy a few chickens off me?’
Another big hit was Cian Darcy from Navan, Co. Meath, or ‘Elfis Presley’ in a green caped jumpsuit, donning the King’s iconic sideburns and hair and mimicking his famous moves.
The eight-yearold told the MoS:
‘I watched loads of Elvis movies and then I started learning his moves.’
Asked if he is a big Elvis Presley fan, Cian confidently said ‘yes’, with mum Karen sharing that he ‘loves Elvis now’.
Cian revealed what it felt like to be Elfis on the night, saying: ‘It’s kind of like when you get butterflies in your tummy when there’s lots of people’.
Any ‘butterflies’ didn’t show as Cian did his best Elvis impression for Kielty several times over the evening. ‘I had lots of fun last night,’ he reflected. Special guest Sophie Quirke agreed, thinking it had all been a dream when she woke up yesterday morning.
Eight-year-old Sophie, who was diagnosed with leukaemia in January and has been receiving daily chemotherapy since, thought she was only going to a Toy Show watch party in Dublin on Friday night.
But during the broadcast, the cameras entered the watch-along to surprise her live on air and whisk her to Montrose House.
‘I thought I would just be watching it when I got to RTÉ,’ Sophie told the Irish Mail on Sunday yesterday. ‘But on the bus [to the studio] I realised I was going to be on stage.’
‘Screaming ensued,’ noted her mother Martina.
Sophie reviewed several toys on air at short notice, appearing as though she had been rehearsing for months.
She said her confident performance was ‘probably because I did a lot of things with mics and all before’ for various cancer charities.
‘I think she’s starting to enjoy her ambassadorial role here for all the children,’ Martina said. ‘She just thought of it as another nice interview.’
The Mullinahone, Co. Tipperary girl said new host Patrick Kielty ‘did an excellent job’ on his first Toy Show outing.
‘Paddy made me feel comfortable... best Toy Show ever.’ And the ‘best surprise ever’ came when Kielty announced the family would be spending a week in Disney World in Florida.
‘When I woke up this morning I just thought it was a dream,’ Sophie said. ‘Until I saw the suitcase on the floor.’
Another toy reviewer, singer Stevie Mulrooney from Kilkenny, got the surprise of his life in the middle of his rousing performance of Ireland’s Call, when rugby stars Peter O’Mahony and Bundee Aki suddenly appeared behind him. ‘I just looked around and saw them,’ Stevie told the MoS. ‘They were giants! Bundee’s very strong.’