X Factor finalist Mary Byrne earned under €30,000 in 2013, new figures have revealed.
The former Tesco worker from Ballyfermot reached the final of the reality show in 2010 but accounts from her company Hetton Investments Ltd have shown that just three years after her appearance, her yearly income had dipped to just €26,223 or €12.60 an hour based on average working week.
The Dublin woman was a huge hit on the X Factor, wowing viewers and judges with her powerful performances of tracks including Tom Jones’ I Who Have Nothing.
According to Mirror Online, a spokesperson for the singer said that her career “will never be at the high it was immediately post X Factor”, adding that “Mary chose to return to live in Ireland instead of staying in the UK where she could have earned far more”.
“Mary is enjoying her life and music working at her own pace which is her choice while she travels to Europe and USA regularly. There has been a general down turn in the music industry in Ireland,” they said.
“Mary took a lot of time off to record an album and work on other projects. She now enjoys her time singing and pursuing other avenues including a lot of TV and radio and doing a lot of charity work.”
However, we doubt that Mary will be returning to the tills any time soon as her company’s profits remained at €97,075 at the end of 2013.
