Mary Byrne

Surpassing season two runner-up Andy Abraham by a good five years, former supermarket worker Mary Byrne was the oldest X Factor contestant to secure a record deal following her elimination from the show. Born in Ballyfermot, Dublin in 1959, Byrne developed a love of singing from a young age and often performed with her brother under the guise of the Tommy Lee Experience, but never had the confidence to pursue a musical career until her late forties, when she entered the first and only series of Irish-language TV talent show Nollaig No. 1. Under the name Mary Lee, she won the c...