Athlone schoolgirl to appear on Toy Show

A nine-year-old Athlone schoolgirl is preparing to appear on the Late Late Toy Show next weekend.

Elsie Farrell Rooney, from The Orchard, Athlone, will be one of the performers on the show on December 6.

This will be an extra special December for the Coosan National School pupil, who will also celebrate her birthday at Christmas.

Her cousin, Annalise Carey, told the Westmeath Independent that Elsie's mother, Sinead Farrell, had sent in a video of Elsie to the initial call-out by RTÉ for audition tapes without telling her.

Over 4,000 audition tapes were submitted to RTÉ, and Elsie was one of only 60 children to get invited to the Dublin studio for a second audition. The Athlone girl also passed that with flying colours, and has since been rehearsing every weekend for the big night.

Annalise said Elsie was not too nervous at the second audition, as she said “it was an achievement just to get the call back”. Elsie has also been attending the Evolution Stage School in Roscommon for the past three years, which may have helped prepare her for performing in public.

Annalise said Elsie has been enjoying the rehearsals, as “everyone up there is so nice”. The rehearsals are currently split into timeslots for the different types of performances, such as dancing, singing, musical instruments.

The “big dress rehearsal” will take place on Thursday, December 5. The next day, all the children will arrive at the RTÉ studios just before the show starts and stay for the entire event.

The nature of Elsie's performance—and the performances of all the other children—will remain a secret until the show is broadcast live, so be sure to tune in on the night when all will be revealed.