Country music star Nathan Carter was in the headlines for the wrong reasons this week.
The 31-year-old apologised after police attended a party at his home being held in breach of Covid-19 rules.
Officers said at least 50 people were present when they arrived at the singer’s home in Lisbellaw, Co Fermanagh, on Friday night.
Gatherings inside and outside domestic dwellings are still subject to tight limits under Northern Ireland’s Covid-19 regulations.
Police issued a £1,000 fine to the organiser of the event and 14 fines of £200 to attendees. A Covid-19 prohibition notice was also issued. PSNI said further enforcement action was expected.
The event was staged to mark Carter’s 31st birthday.
In a statement of apology, the singer said he "realises how irresponsible these actions were and I fully apologise".
But who is Nathan Carter and what do we know about him?
He actually hails from Liverpool
Although he is synonymous with the Irish country music scene, Carter is actually from Liverpool, where the relatives at his party travelled from, although he moved to Ireland aged 18.
His parents Noreen and Ian are from Newry in County Down so Ireland was always part of his life as he travelled to visit grandparents.
As a child, Carter learned to play the accordion and regularly competed in Fleadh Ceoil’s in Ireland. By the age of 12, he won All Ireland medals for singing and the accordion. Solo performances soon followed in both Liverpool and Ireland before he bit the bullet and relocated for good.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: “I moved to Ireland when I was 18 and it changed everything. I ended up staying here and that's how I got into my career and set up the band.
“I moved to Donegal on my own for a few gigs and just ended up staying. My parents were pretty shocked and worried at the start because I was so young and on my own, but when things started going well, they were very proud and happy."
He has a famous brother
Carter is the eldest of three children. His younger brother Jake is also a singer. He first came to public attention after an appearance on the Late Late Show, performing his first single Trouble which reached number one on the Irish Country Music iTunes chart.
He well and truly stepped out of Jake’s shadow when he won series two of Dancing With The Stars. He was partnered with Dubliner Karen Byrne and the passion on the dancefloor spread into real life and the pair have been together ever since.
The couple spent the first lockdowns in Fermanagh, living with Jake's brother.
Nathan said: “We don’t get to see each other that often so it has been really great to spend some time together. We are exercising at much as possible.
“There are no houses near me so it is just us and the sheep. We are very fortunate to be able to get outside into the fresh air, there are a lot of people stuck in flats and apartments.
“Jake lives in an apartment in Dublin so he is delighted to be here and at least he can go for a walk, run or cycle without bumping into crowds of people.”
They also have a sister Kiara, who is the middle child, but she has no interest in following them into music.
He used to work with his dad
Carter's father Ian is a joiner and builder and when he left school, Carter originally followed him into the trade.
He told the Belfast Telegraph: “When I left school at 17, I was gigging in a lot of pubs and clubs around the north-west of England. I worked a little bit on building sites for about a year, on and off, with my dad, which I completely hated - it just wasn't for me.
“Thankfully, I got busier with gigs and didn't have to work in building anymore. I could concentrate on the music full-time.”
His grandmother is his biggest influence
Carter cites his grandmother on his mother’s side, Ann McCoy, as his biggest influence, saying: “She's always been a businesswoman - she has never stopped working and she's now 78 years old.
"She still comes on the road with us and sells my merchandise for me and goes to the shows. She drove me to all my gigs when I was 15 and 16 because I couldn't drive. She's been a big influence and a real hard worker and I've probably taken a lot of her traits on board."
And Carter admitted that his nan had found lockdown tough as she is used to being so busy.
"She FaceTimes us three times a day and we get the obligatory 12am call after she has had a couple of gins and decides she wants a chat,” he said in an interview during lockdown.
"My nan is not a home bird at all, she likes being out and doing things, meeting people and going to bingo. This is really killing her, she has never been inside so much in life."
His mother was diagnosed with MS a few years ago
Carter's mother Noreen, who worked for the city council in Liverpool, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2018 and lost the sight in one eye after a worrying episode.
Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror in 2020, Carter said: “It affected her quite badly at the time but thankfully her sight has come back a little bit and she can see. It is not what it was, however, she is getting there.
“She has been lucky so far, thank God. She has had a few episodes so far, that is the technical term, but she goes to yoga three times a week to stay flexible and it hasn’t harmed her too much so far.
“We are hoping that she can stay active and stay moving as much as possible. She is doing as much as she can and stays moving daily.
“Thankfully, nothing serious has happened up to now, episode-wise.”
