A CO Derry schoolboy has been left "very, very happy" after he won a place in the semi finals of The Voice Kids.
St Colm’s High School pupil Dara McNicholl (12) from Ballinascreen, competed against two other singers on Saturday night in a battle round on the show.
After performing the Shakira hit `Whenever, Wherever', group mentor Paloma Faith said all three singers, Dara, Rachel and Heidi deserved to go through . However when forced to make a decision she chose Dara.
His U14 teammates from St Colm’s GAC will get another chance to see Dara on the screen as he progresses to the semi-final of the competition next week.
Previously at the blind auditions, Dara wowed the judges with a perfect rendition of the Whitney Houston hit I Have Nothing. His performance resulted in all four judges turning around in their seats.
Paloma Faith said it had been a "no brainer" to have him in her group, adding that the 12-year-old has "no idea about how brilliant he is".
Speaking at the time, Dara had told the judges that he had only been "singing properly for the last three years".
He added: "I just used to hum. Secretly, I would just go to the car and sing to the radio,” he said.
"Getting on a stage and actually looking at the amount of people staring at you. It is much different to humming in your car."
After winning a place in the semi final on Saturday night, Dara told presenter Emma Willis he was "very, very happy" before running to the audience to hug his parents.
The Ballinascreen Under-14 hurler is only the second contestant from these parts to progress into The Voice Kids semi-final.
Loughinisland teenager, Conor Marcus made it into the penultimate round of the top-rated Saturday night ITV series last year.
Dara will fly the flag for Northern Ireland in The Voice Kids semi-final on ITV from 7.25pm this Saturday.
