Clonakilty girls are aiming for top spot in Ireland's Got Talent finals

WEST Cork’s certainly got talent and some of it will be showcased this week on Virgin Media One and also on TG4.

Clonakilty girls Aisling Dooley and Grace Lyons are part of a troupe of 16 Ballincollig-based gymnasts called Rebel Acro and last week they were sent through to the final of Ireland’s Got Talent, which will be televised live at 7.30pm on Sunday, April 7th.

The Clonakilty acrobats, Aisling (14) and Grace (16), are both students at the Sacred Heart Secondary School in Clonakilty, but they train with Ballincollig Gymnastics Club.

Speaking to The Southern Star, Aisling said they thoroughly enjoyed their performance at The Helix in Dublin last Sunday night and hope to keep their nerve and do the county proud next Sunday night.

Aisling admitted she spends more time with her gym partners than she does with her family these days!

Rebel Acro gave a dazzling performance – in more ways than one – and it secured for them one of six places in the grand finale, plus the judges’ wild card.

Judges Louis Walsh, Jason Byrne, Michelle Visage and Denise Van Outen have been impressed with the troupe’s spellbinding routines since their first TV perfomance, which not only showed skill and dexterity, but poise and grace too. 

The start of the routine had an ethereal quality before it changed tempo and allowed them to demonstrate the full range of their synchronised display. Their towering acrobatic routine is testimony to their strength and versatility, giving them the title of ‘Cork’s Cirque du Soleil’. 

It has also earned them huge audience applause, a standing ovation, and lots more fans for the final. 

Rebel Acro are now calling on everyone in West Cork – and throughout the country – to back their bid to win the final. The phone lines for voting will open as soon as the show starts at 7.30pm on Sunday night on the Virgin Media One TV channel.

Meanwhile – at 8.30pm on the same night – on TG4, Rosscarbery’s Elaine Moore and her daughter, Isabelle, will be hoping to wow the judges in the hit family talent show, Réalta Agus Gaolta.

The show, hosted by Síle Seoige, aims to find Ireland’s most talented family, with the winner getting to play live on stage supporting Kíla in the National Stadium, along with a cash prize of €3,000. Mum Elaine and her daughter Isabelle will battle it out against six other families on Sunday night in the third episode of the popular show.

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