MaBy’s €20k-plus Arnotts’ deal puts Jedward in shade

X FACTOR sensation Mary Byrne has certainly come a long way from her days on the tills at Tesco. The Herald can reveal how the mum-of-one bagged herself a late Christmas present yesterday when she stepped out to Dublin’s Henry Street for her first public appearance in Ireland.

The Dublin diva is said to have pocketed an impressive sum – well in excess of €20,000 – after being signed up to open the Christmas sales at Arnotts. Last year the store experienced record crowds through their doors when Lucan twins John and Edward Grimes lined out for a post-X Factor appearance on St Stephen’s Day.

“Mary is being very well looked after for her appearance and is earning even more than Jedward did last year,” said an insider.

DEMAND

“Obviously with her making it to the semi-finals she’s in huge demand both in Ireland and the UK, even more so than the boys were this time last year, so they had to pay big bucks to get her. “Even once all the other costs including security etc are paid she’ll still be walking away with well over €20,000,” they added.

Mary, who was mentored by Louis Walsh on the hit show, has already signed a €1.2m record deal in the UK and looks set to make a mint in the New Year.

Yesterday saw the singer (51) arrive promptly to Arnotts at 9.30am, before the store’s doors opened at 10am. Fans braved the elements to flock to the city centre department store, where Mary mingled with fans as she took centre stage at the launch.

Dressed to impress in a black and red outfit, Mary, was escorted down Henry Street by gardai for her arrival. She then treated fans to a rendition of Take That’s hit, Could It Be Magic, followed by the Beatles’ song, Something, and her most requested song from the X Factor, It’s A Man’s World.

She finished with This Is My Life, before spending two hours meeting fans. Meanwhile over 100 people had queued outside the store overnight, with the first person in the queue snapping up an Americanstyle fridge freezer in the Arnotts’ electrical department that was reduced from €699 to €299.