How will stars ring in New Year? ‘What better way to spend it than with friends?’
THE countdown to 2018 is on, with revellers determined to see out the old year out with a bang tomorrow night. We asked some of Ireland’s best-loved celebrities where they will be at the stroke of midnight to ring in the New Year.
DANNY O’REILLY Lead singer with The Coronas
‘I’m going to go down to Dingle, I’ve spent loads of New Year’s Eves there. We have a holiday home there. It’s a great part of the world, we love it. We wrote a lot of our new album down there – 90% of it, I’d say. It’s a great place to go and lock yourself away, chill out and turn the phones off. The four of us go down, we write songs and chill out.’
KATHERINE LYNCH Actress and comedian
‘All my family are actually going to my sister in Bath and my brother is home from New York. So there are going to be ten nieces and nephews, but I can’t go because I’m in Annie at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. So I’ll be at home watching Jools Holland and his Hootenanny!’
BRIAN REDMOND Judge on RTÉ’s Dancing With The Stars
‘On New Year’s Eve my brother is home with his family: they go back on New Year’s Day, so that will be the last chance we get together. Thanks to Dancing With The Stars, it may well be the last chance I get to see my own family until the start of April so we’ll try and keep it as quiet as we can at home.’
JENNY MCCARTHY Celebrity wedding photographer
‘Myself and Martin [King, TV3 weather presenter and Jenny’s husband] recently got a bit of work done to the house. All of Martin’s family came over on Christmas Day, when we had 25 people for dinner. Two days later, my family came over. And on New Year’s Eve, we’re having a party in our house. I’m exhausted already!’
DAVID RAWLE Star of Moone Boy
‘I’ve absolutely no plans for New Year’s, I will probably be sitting at home watching Star Wars! I am still at school so I am focusing on my studies. I’m looking forward to the New Year and whatever may come from that. At the moment I’m still at school and it helps to ground you because when you go to school you’re the same as everyone else, which I think is really nice. I’m not treated differently.’
DERIC HARTIGAN TV3 weather presenter
‘Hopefully, I’ll be going out to Dubai! That’s the plan at the moment. We’re off on Ireland AM for a couple of weeks so we have a nice little break over the Christmas. We’re back in on January 2 and then it’s full steam ahead. Next year I’m heading out to South Sudan and Rwanda where I’ll do a series of reports, including coverage from a refugee camp. After that, I’m planning to travel to the Antarctic and plunge in for a swim.’
VOGUE WILLIAMS Model and DJ
‘Spencer [Matthews, Vogue’s boyfriend and former Made In Chelsea cast member] and I spent all of Christmas together. For New Year’s, we’re going to the south of France with his godfather who lives over there. We’re just going to have a chilled New Year’s Eve. If you stay in Dublin or London, it always turns into a mad party and I want to wake up semi-fresh on New Year’s Day – for once in my whole life.’
RORY COWAN Actor and entertainer
‘I’m going to do what I do every New Year’s Eve. I’m going to spend it in the Trocadero restaurant with my best friends Ken Hutton and Robert Doggett. It’s a tradition going back more than 30 years. I’d hate to miss my NYE in the Troc. It’s my favourite restaurant in the world and who could ask for better than to end one year and start another one with best friends?’