Mary Byrne talks Covid drinking spiral – ‘Wine was like a noose around my neck’

Mary Byrne has revealed she is still in therapy after her drinking spiralled during the second Covid lockdown. The former X Factor finalist has opened up in the past about her alcohol issues, but she faced a new struggle during the pandemic.

She said: “I went to a counsellor just after Covid, I was overdrinking and sitting at home. I still have binges now but only on holidays. But during Covid wine was like a noose around my neck. It’s an everyday battle. I still have a monthly call with my therapist and any other time I need her she is there.”

Mary says the LGBTQ community is her biggest fan base, revealing: “I’m getting a lot of gigs for gay men.”

The singer is back on the road as she prepares for her new one-woman show. She told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I just had a birthday party for a gay man and his husband, there were 25 people there and I only did six songs.

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“I’ve two more gigs coming up for gay men who are celebrating their 50th and 60th birthdays. The gay guys are my biggest customers. They love the big ballad voice. They empathise with my struggles, and will always fight your corner.”

Dubliner Mary, 64, said Louis Walsh knew she’d “batter” him if he mentioned her during his time on Celebrity Big Brother. Louis, 71, swiped at everyone from Cheryl Cole to Jedward and Ronan Keating when he entered the CBB house in March.

Mary said: “I rang Louis to tell him congrats on Big Brother and asked him what the story was about him talking about everyone in there. He said, ‘You know me Mary I just say what I feel’.

“People asked me if I was afraid he would mention me, it was always at the back of my head. But he knew better, if he mentioned a word about me I’d batter the man, so he didn’t.”

Ballyfermot native Mary rose to fame on the X Factor in 2010, signing a record deal with Sony Music Ireland. She has nothing but praise for show boss Simon Cowell.

She remarked: “Simon is the kindest man you’ll ever meet, that hard exterior you see on the telly, he’s not like that backstage. Offscreen he’s kind, funny, and generous.” She shared a house with One Direction and was fondly dubbed “Tesco Mary” – revealing how Harry Styles mooned her on a daily basis.

Mary said: “I feel like a proud mother for the whole lot of them, I know some have gone off the radar. Simon worked hard with them on the X Factor, he had them marked for stardom. Harry was always going to go on to do massive things. I’ll never forget this little 16-year-old showing me his tiny bum, it was like looking at my son’s bum.”

The star is about to embark on her tell-all one-woman show entitled Check Me Out. She remarked: “Everyone comes up to me after the shows telling me they identify with my struggle with depression and my life.

“I’ve had standing ovations, I’m so grateful. When I’m low now I talk to my wall just like Shirley Valentine and then I talk back to myself and say, ‘What’s the problem, there’s nothing wrong with you. Get your act together’.”

• Check Me Out is at the 3Olympia on August 20 and in venues nationwide, see ticketmaster.ie for details.

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