Castlewellan singer Zoe singing her way to the top

Castlewellan singer Zoe singing her way to the top

16 May 2012

A CASTLEWELLAN teenager has beaten off competition from across Northern Ireland to make it into the top three in the largest singing event for young people in the country.

Seventeen year-old Zoe Skillen took one of the top honours in the Credit Union’s CU Factor with her rendition of Someone Like You.

Zoe is a student at St. Malachy’s High School and flew the flag for Dromara and Drumgooland Credit Union.

She impressed the judges at the grand final in the Burnavon Theatre, Cookstown, after sailing through five heats across Northern Ireland to make it into the top three.

Zoe is no stranger to singing competitions, having previously had success in Citybeat’s Search for a Star and Festival4stars, making it to the UK final.

She has also has recorded various videos on You Tube, one of which has been viewed 160,000 times.

Deirdre Mayo, competition organiser, said discovering young talent like Zoe and giving them a platform was the aim of the competition.

“I am delighted that we are now one of the largest events for young people with over 2,000 following us on facebook throughout the year,” she said.

“As a community based movement the Credit Union is always looking for ways to reach out to young people and get them involved.

“The CU Factor together with our national art competition and school quiz are ways for us to explain the benefits of the credit union to a new generation.

“We now have 410,000 members right across Northern Ireland and by staging events such as this we are getting more and more young people involved.”