Armagh<\/a> schoolgirls are preparing for the experience of a lifetime after being selected to appear on this year\u2019s Late Late Toy Show on RT\u00c9.<\/p>\nAoibheann Donaghy (13) and Aislinn Whyte (14) will feature on the iconic festive programme on Friday, December 5, in what has been described as a \u201cdream come true\u201d.<\/p>\n
The talented young performers both attend St Catherine\u2019s College in Armagh, but incredibly the pair were chosen \u2013 separately \u2013 from 10,000 applicants and subsequent auditions. Talk about Armagh\u2019s Got Talent!<\/p>\n
Aoibheann\u2019s application was a last-minute entry after her mum, Janine, spotted the application process online the day before it closed.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Armagh I, Janine said it took a bit of cajoling before her music-mad daughter was convinced to give it a go.<\/p>\n
While Aoibheann never misses the opportunity to sing, Janine said she was \u201ca bit reluctant\u201d to send in an audition tape, having missed out the previous year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got her talked into it, and we just got the audition tape in at the very last minute,\u201d said Janine.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we got a phone call maybe six weeks ago to say that they had 10,000 audition tapes, and they were going to audition 60 in person, and would she like to come down to the RT\u00c9 studios.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously Aoibheann jumped at the chance to do that \u2013 that doesn\u2019t happen every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aoibheann ended up auditioning in the Toy Show studio in front of the show\u2019s producers, who told her she would know the outcome in two weeks\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout two weeks passed and we didn\u2019t hear anything,\u201d Janine explained. \u201cSo we had presumed that it was a no \u2013 so many people audition for this \u2013 but then we got a phone call a few days after that to say that she had got on to the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a wee bit unfazed by the news, probably until we went down to the rehearsal and then I think it kind of hit her how big it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve watched the Toy Show as a child. I have two children who have watched it growing up. And when she saw the studio again she realised then just how much of a big deal it is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aoibheann is no stranger to the stage, having recently been chosen to perform in London\u2019s West End and starred in her school\u2019s production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but a live show in front of 1.5 million-plus viewers might just be another level altogether.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Aislinn Whyte \u2013 who was also a late entrant in the Toy Show application process \u2013 comes from an Irish traditional music background and has multiple titles in English traditional singing in the Armagh and Ulster Fleadhs. She also won second place at the All-Ireland Fleadh Cheoil in Wexford in 2023 in the Under-12 category.<\/p>\n
A member of Keady Comhaltas, who also plays the fiddle and banjo, Aislinn performed at the Daoir\u00ed Farrell Concert as part of the Tommy Makem Folk Festival in Keady last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw it advertised on Facebook and the closing date was very close, so we applied online and uploaded a performance clip,\u201d said Aislinn\u2019s mum, Catriona.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe then got an email back several weeks later to congratulate Aislinn for being one of the 60 acts getting through to the auditions, out of thousands of applications.\u201d<\/p>\n
And just like Aoibheann, Aislinn went down to the RT\u00c9 studios and performed two songs of different genres in the audition.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks ago, I got a call to say Aislinn had been selected to perform on part of the show,\u201d said Catriona.<\/p>\n
Aislinn was \u201cover the moon\u201d and has been down at the RT\u00c9 studios for rehearsals this week ahead of the \u201creally exciting\u201d live show in a couple of weeks\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
The Late Late Toy Show will air live on Friday, December 5, at 9:35pm on RT\u00c9 One and RT\u00c9 Player.<\/p>\n
Good luck girls \u2013 the whole community is behind you ahead of the big night.<\/p>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Aislinn-White-and-Aoibheann-Donaghy.jpg\")
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