Birth name Niall Breslin Name Niall Breslin Role Musician | Instruments Guitar, drums, piano Height 1.98 m | |
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Born 22 October 1980 (age 44) Artane, Dublin, Ireland ( 1980-10-22 ) Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, television personality, former footballer Associated acts The BlizzardsBrendan McCahey Parents Mandy Breslin, Enda Breslin Albums Colourblind Stereo, Rage and Romance Siblings Ronan Breslin, Andrea Breslin, Julie Breslin, Laura Breslin Similar People Rozanna Purcell, Kian Egan, Eoghan McDermott, Una Healy, Kathryn Thomas Profiles | ||
Eason exclusive interview niall breslin
Niall Breslin (born 22 October 1980), known as Bressie, is an Irish musician and former Westmeath Gaelic footballer and Leinster Rugby player. Breslin found success as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter with pop band The Blizzards, as a co-writer and producer with XIX Entertainment and as a solo artist. He was the winning coach on the first and third seasons of The Voice of Ireland.
Contents
- Eason exclusive interview niall breslin
- Musician Niall Breslin AKA Bressie talks to George Hook
- Early life
- Sports career
- Writing career
- The Blizzards
- Solo career
- Personal life
- Discography
- References
Musician Niall Breslin (AKA Bressie) talks to George Hook
Early life
Born in Dublin to father Enda and mother Mandy, Breslin is the second youngest of five children, including siblings Ronan, Laura, Julie and Andrea. At the age of two, he and his family moved to Mullingar. As a result of Enda's military deployment when Bressie was 13, the family relocated to Israel for five months. They then returned to Mullingar, where he discovered a love and talent for sports as well as music.
Breslin attended University College Dublin on a sports scholarship, graduating with a degree in commerce.
Sports career
Breslin represented his native county team, Westmeath, in Gaelic football at Minor, and U-21 Championship levels. He won a Leinster Under-21 Football Championship medal with Westmeath in 2000. He was also a professional rugby player with Leinster Rugby. He had a scholarship in UCD for rugby and also represented Ireland at Under-21 level in the World Cup.
Writing career
In 2015, Breslin published his first book Me and My Mate Jeffrey, a combination memoir/self-help book. "Jeffrey" is a personification of Breslin's anxiety disorder. The book won the 2015 Irish Book Award for popular non fiction.
The Blizzards
With childhood friends, Breslin formed The Blizzards in 2004. They released two albums that achieved commercial success, A Public Display of Affection in 2006 and Domino Effect in 2008. The band split up in 2009. Following the band's split, Breslin joined Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment as a songwriter and producer in 2010.
Solo career
In 2011, Breslin released a solo album, Colourblind Stereo. Four singles were released from the album. During a performance at the Festival of Fires in Westmeath on 5 May 2012, Bressie urged thousands of fans to vote against the government coalition of Fine Gael/Labour, saying before leaving the stage “I don’t normally do politics, but this Government is an awful bollocks. I want to make an appeal to all you people out there. Don't make the same mistakes we did by voting them in again.” Though one of Ireland's most in-demand stars, he has stated that he eschews the celebrity lifestyle and has no interest in “the bulls**t that comes hand in hand with fame and celebrity”.
In 2012, he was a coach on the inaugural season of The Voice of Ireland, mentoring the winner, Pat Byrne.
Through the end of 2012, Breslin began work on his second solo album. On 29 January 2013, he announced via Twitter that the album would be called "Rage and Romance" with an expected release in April 2013. On 30 January 2013, the first single entitled, "Show Me Love" was given initial radio airplay with a projected release date on 22 March 2013.
A music video was filmed for Show Me Love, featuring Moone Boy actors David Rawle and Ian O'Reilly. In 2014 Breslin appeared on the second series of Moone Boy as a PE Teacher - his first acting role.
In January 2014, Breslin announced putting his solo career as a recording artist on hold, with the intention to focus on his work as a judge on The Voice of Ireland and writing and producing music.
Personal life
In late March 2013, Breslin opened up on his blog about his struggles with Generalized anxiety disorder. Having experienced a severe panic attack on a live show taping during the first season of The Voice of Ireland, Breslin sought professional help and ultimately decided to manage his anxiety by adopting a more active lifestyle. He began training for a triathlon, in support of Lakelands Area Retreat & Cancer Centre (LARCC), a foundation on which his mother serves as director.
Breslin is also an ambassador for Cycle Against Suicide (CAS), an organisation that seeks to raise awareness and bring support to those dealing with mental health issues. In April and May 2013, Breslin participated as a cyclist with CAS, in a series of legs around Ireland, stopping at local schools to give mental health-related talks and also he has been dating with Miss Universe Ireland 2010 Rozanna Purcell.