Niall Breslin
Encyclopedia
Niall Breslin is an Irish
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 singer and former sportsperson. He found success as the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter with ska-punk/pop band The Blizzards
The Blizzards
The Blizzards are an Irish band from Mullingar in County Westmeath. They were formed by Niall Breslin in late 2004, and also feature Dec Murphy , Justin Ryan, Anthony Doran and Aidan Lynch...

 and as a co-writer and producer with 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...

.

Career

Prior to success as a musician, Breslin played hurling for Patrickswell
Patrickswell
Patrickswell, historically known as Toberpatrick , is a small town in County Limerick, Ireland.-Etymology:The name refers to St. Patrick and there is a small hand pump/well in the main street; Microsoft mappoint and some other programs call the village St. Patrick's Well or St....

 at senior level, earning 21 caps for the province. Breslin has also represented his native county team, Westmeath
Westmeath GAA
The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath...

, in GAA
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association is an amateur Irish and international cultural and sporting organisation focused primarily on promoting Gaelic games, which include the traditional Irish sports of hurling, camogie, Gaelic football, handball and rounders...

 (Gaelic football
Gaelic football
Gaelic football , commonly referred to as "football" or "Gaelic", or "Gah" is a form of football played mainly in Ireland...

) at Minor, Under-21 and Senior Championship levels. He won a Leinster Under-21 Football Championship
Leinster Under-21 Football Championship
For information on the latest U-21 championship see: Leinster U21 Football Championship 2007The Leinster Under-21 Football Championship is the Under 21 "knockout" competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Leinster in Ireland...

 medal with Westmeath
Westmeath GAA
The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath...

 in 2000.

He then went on to sign a professional contract with Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby
Leinster Rugby, usually referred to simply as Leinster, is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Dublin, representing the Irish province of Leinster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro 12 and also competes in the Heineken Cup...

 and was capped several times and played in the Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...

 and Celtic League
Celtic League (rugby union)
The Celtic League is an annual rugby union competition involving professional sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

 for the province.
Leinster
Leinster is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the east of Ireland. It comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Mide, Osraige and Leinster. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the historic fifths of Leinster and Mide gradually merged, mainly due to the impact of the Pale, which straddled...



With The Blizzards Breslin released two albums, several charting singles and received numerous awards. His fear of flying inspired him to write the song "Three Cheers for Modern Medicine". He was amongst those who paid tribute to Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...

editor Niall Stokes
Niall Stokes
Niall Stokes is the award-winning editor of the long-running fortnightly Ireland music and political magazine Hot Press based in Dublin. He has edited the magazine since 1977. He has been a longstanding champion of Irish music, most famously U2 in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s...

 for his winning of the Industry Award at the 2009 Meteor Awards.

In 2010, Breslin left The Blizzards behind to base himself in London as a co-writer and producer with 19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment
19 Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, United States, is a creator and producer of entertainment properties based around the areas of Music and Television / Film, including American Idol in the United States, Pop Idol in the United Kingdom as well as versions of the Idol series in more than...

, owned by Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller
Simon Fuller is a British artist manager, television producer and creator of the Idol franchise, first seen as Pop Idol in the UK. Fuller is also the co-creator and executive producer of the Fox TV reality show So You Think You Can Dance and other U.S...

.

Breslin is a Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...

 fan. He has allegedly claimed an addiction to pop music. Breslin previously presented a show ("The Meaning of Music") on Irish radio station Newstalk on Saturday nights from 9pm until 11pm.

Breslin confirmed via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 that his first single, Can't Stay Young Forever would be released on the May 27, 2011.

Breslin's second single from the album, Good Intentions, was released on September 6, 2011, and the album Colourblind Stereo, was released on September 16, 2011.

He is to be a coach on The Voice of Ireland
The Voice of Ireland
The Voice of Ireland is a reality singing competition, created by media tycoon John de Mol, and will air from December 2011 and throughout early 2012 on RTE One. The show will be hosted by Kathryn Thomas. A spin-off show will air on RTE Two hosted by Eoghan McDermott.One of the important premises...

.

External links

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