{"id":340111,"date":"2026-03-11T07:32:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/340111\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T07:32:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T07:32:16","slug":"paudie-responds-to-lunatics-comment-after-he-makes-dwts-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/340111\/","title":{"rendered":"Paudie responds to ‘lunatics’ comment after he makes DWTS final"},"content":{"rendered":"

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All Live95 News
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\n Photography credit: Kyran O\u2019Brien\u202f\u202f <\/p>\n

\n The star of The Traitors has confounded all the critics.\n <\/p>\n

Limerick\u2019s favourite “traitor” has become the hero of the ballroom.<\/p>\n

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

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\u2019s all down to the public and I\u2019m so glad they stuck with me.”<\/p>\n

Dancing Through the Decades<\/p>\n

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.”<\/p>\n

Paudie was quick to defend his performance on air: “I don\u2019t know why they said that. Unless Laura is able to levitate, I was definitely lifting her on the cradle lift!”<\/p>\n

Facing the Critics<\/p>\n

The Limerick man’s progression has caused what Joe Nash described as a “meltdown” among the Dublin intelligentsia. The Irish Times labelled the public\u2019s decision to vote for Paudie as “ludicrous,” suggesting “the lunatics have taken over.”<\/p>\n

Responding to the “lunatic” label, Paudie remained unfazed. “I\u2019m sure those lunatics buy their paper,” he joked. “I\u2019ve improved relative to my age. I\u2019m putting in the hours and I\u2019m a much better dancer than I was in week one.”<\/p>\n

A Birthday to Remember<\/p>\n

The final falls on a massive weekend for South Limerick. With JP McManus\u2019s horses running in the Gold Cup on Friday and Paudie in the final on Sunday, a historic “Kilmallock Double” is on the cards.<\/p>\n

Remarkably, the final takes place just two days before Paudie\u2019s 69th birthday on St. Patrick\u2019s Day. When asked about a potential victory parade down Henry Street, Paudie said: “That would be the icing on the cake. I\u2019m just glad to be representing Limerick and Munster.”<\/p>\n

You can listen to a full podcast of the interview here.<\/p>\n

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