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Photography credit: Kyran O’Brien  

The star of The Traitors has confounded all the critics.

Limerick’s favourite “traitor” has become the hero of the ballroom.

Paudie Moloney is officially a Dancing with the Stars finalist, surviving a tense semi-final that has left national critics in a spin.

Despite finishing at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, the Kilmallock man was saved by a massive surge in public support. Speaking to Limerick Today presenter Joe Nash on Live 95, Paudie admitted he was braced for the exit door. “I thought I was gone, to be perfectly honest,” he said. “The judges were never going to keep me there… it’s all down to the public and I’m so glad they stuck with me.”

Dancing Through the Decades

The semi-final saw Paudie and partner Laura Nolan take on the Samba to Gangnam Style and a suave American Smooth. While judge Arthur Gourounlian praised his “sophisticated” look in a tail suit, others suggested Laura was doing the “heavy lifting.”

Paudie was quick to defend his performance on air: “I don’t know why they said that. Unless Laura is able to levitate, I was definitely lifting her on the cradle lift!”

Facing the Critics

The Limerick man’s progression has caused what Joe Nash described as a “meltdown” among the Dublin intelligentsia. The Irish Times labelled the public’s decision to vote for Paudie as “ludicrous,” suggesting “the lunatics have taken over.”

Responding to the “lunatic” label, Paudie remained unfazed. “I’m sure those lunatics buy their paper,” he joked. “I’ve improved relative to my age. I’m putting in the hours and I’m a much better dancer than I was in week one.”

A Birthday to Remember

The final falls on a massive weekend for South Limerick. With JP McManus’s horses running in the Gold Cup on Friday and Paudie in the final on Sunday, a historic “Kilmallock Double” is on the cards.

Remarkably, the final takes place just two days before Paudie’s 69th birthday on St. Patrick’s Day. When asked about a potential victory parade down Henry Street, Paudie said: “That would be the icing on the cake. I’m just glad to be representing Limerick and Munster.”

You can listen to a full podcast of the interview here.