Inishowen Teen Aimee Rose Set to Shine on Toy Show

A 13-year-old Inishowen girl is set to take one of the most exciting steps of her young performing career this Friday night, as Aimee Rose from Fahan takes to the stage of the iconic Late Late Toy Show.

Aimee Rose, a second-year student at Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana, was one of just 60 children selected from more than 5,000 applicants to perform on this year’s show. 

Her mother, Sharon Carey, says the scale of the achievement is something Aimee Rose is only beginning to grasp.Sharon said. “I told her, to get to where she is, it’s really big. I don’t think the children understand how big it is.”

Aimee Rose has been singing since she was three years old and is already in Grade 7 singing. She currently trains with St. Columb’s School of Music in Derry and is an active member of both the Inish Theatre Group and the Buncrana Pantomime Society, where she will perform in Cinderella this year. She previously played a role in Annie the Musical at Scoil Mhuire. 

The former St. Mura’s Primary School student in Tooban is no stranger to the spotlight. Earlier this year, she made it to the final 12 of the Junior Eurovision competition on TG4.

The journey to Friday night has been intense. The family received a phone call after applying at the start of October, inviting Aimee Rose to the RTÉ studios for an interview and audition, where she performed Bruises by Lewis Capaldi and Killeagh by Kingfisher.

“They said they’d come back to us,” Sharon recalled. “And then on Halloween week, they let us know that she actually got through to the live shows.”

The wait was agonising. “It was awful. A terrible wait. We were waiting over three weeks to see if she got through or not,” Sharon said. “I was probably more anxious than she was. Aimee Rose doesn’t care—she’s easy-going. Though again, I don’t think they realise how big a deal it is to be on the show.”

Rehearsals have been taking place every Sunday throughout November in Dublin, and the family will travel down again on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week for final preparations. Aimee Rose’s performance will remain a tightly kept surprise, but she will be performing as part of a group on the night.

Alongside singing, Aimee Rose also plays guitar, piano, and enjoys Irish dancing. Sharon laughs that Aimee Rose’s busy schedule keeps her on her toes: “She has me running as a taxi man.”

While Sharon will be watching backstage in the Green Room at the Toy Show, Dad Conor and ten-year-old football-mad brother Michael, who plays for Aileach Football Club, will watch from a hotel screening arranged for the performers’ families in Dublin.

Aimee Rose's two biggest fans— her grannies, Teifhie and Mary—will be tuning in from home. It will be an especially emotional night for Granny Teifhie, who returns home the evening before the show after spending the week in respite.

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The teenager's previous performances with Inish Theatre include a memorable solo piece in the Inish Mini Me show, where she sang Sinéad O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U and The Cranberries’ Dreams.

With her talent, dedication, and busy schedule, Friday night’s appearance on the Late Late Toy Show is just the latest milestone in what looks to be a very bright future for Aimee Rose Carey.