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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Sandra Mallon

Irish magician Cillian O'Connor secured huge number of votes in Britain's Got Talent final

Magician Cillian O’Connor secured 11.8 per cent of the British public vote on Sunday night with his spectacular magic routine.

The 14-year-old, from Mornington, Co Meath, won third place on the hit TV show.

It’s been revealed that the teenager – who was diagnosed with autism and dyspraxia - got 11.8 per cent of the votes, while runner-up Lilliana Clifton, 13, received 13.1 per cent and winner Norwegian comedian Viggo Venn won the show with 22.5 percent of votes.

His mother Elaine told of how "speechless" the family were of Cillian’s achievement.

READ MORE: Irish Britain's Got Talent star Cillian O'Connor shares secret to staying calm on stage ahead of final

She said: "Thank you so so much to everyone who has supported CilliansMagic. Wow, we are still in shock. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet, who would have thought.

"We are speechless," she added on Facebook.

Top magician Keith Barry also sent his congratulations to the youngster hours after making it to the final, saying: "Congrats!," with a fire emoji.

During his performance in the final of the competition, Cillian made co-host Ant McPartlin disappear.

After his act, the judges gave the youngster a standing ovation with co-host Declan Donnelly remarking: "I need to know how to do that."

Judge Simon Cowell said: "I just think you’ve obviously got magical powers and I believe in that", while fellow judge Bruno Tonioli described the Meath teenager as "the embodiment of magic".

Speaking moments after the show, Cillian said he felt "brilliant".

He said backstage after the results: "I feel brilliant because that's third place out of hundreds of thousands who have auditioned this year. That's a huge achievement for me."

Norwegian comedian Viggo Venn "captured the heart of the [British] nation" with his high-vis inspired routines and was crowned the winner.

Venn, who said at his first audition that he wanted to become a British comedian, scooped the £250,000 (€289,600) prize, as well as a spot on the bill at the Royal Variety Performance, which is attended by members of Britain’s royal family.

During the final of the show on Sunday night, a surprise came when former contestant Susan Boyle appeared for a performance of her 2009 audition song I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables, with the cast of the West End production.

The 62-year-old also joined the cast in performing a rendition of Do You Hear The People Sing?

After the performance, Boyle said: "It feels great [to be here]. It’s extra special for me. Last April I suffered a minor stroke and I fought to be back on stage and I have done it."

Cowell remarked: "Susan, we owe you so much. I knew you weren’t well but if anyone was going to come back, you were going to come back, it wouldn’t be the same without you."

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