Meath star of Britain's Got Talent records Christmas hymn for charity

One of the Irish stars of Britain’s Got Talent has recorded and released her own version of the traditional Christmas hymn O Holy Night, just in time for the festive season.

And Leah Barniville is asking fans who watch the video to make a donation to Debra Ireland, the national charity which provides day-to-day help and support for people with painful skin condition EB, and their families.

Epidermolysis bullosa causes the skin – both inside and out – to blister and wound at the slightest touch and the only treatment for the distressing condition is painful bandaging to prevent infection.

The 18-year-old from Ratoath, Co Meath, has a connection with a family who sadly lost two children to EB and wanted to do what she could to support Debra Ireland.

“My dad has been a supporter of the charity for some time now and for the past couple of years I have held concerts for other charities,” said Leah.

“Even though I was not able to hold a live event this year, I still wanted to do something to help raise money for Debra Ireland.

“Part of their work is to fund research programmes to find better treatments and possible cures for EB, and I am delighted to do whatever I can to help that.”

O Holy Night is the latest in a series of singles from the talented soprano, whose appearance on Britain’s Got Talent wowed the judges and has been viewed more than 50 million times on YouTube.

In 2017, at the age of 14, her amazing operatic voice prompted a standing ovation from all four judges and the audience in both her audition and semi-final, helping to kick-start her career.

“Performing on Britain’s Got Talent was a really amazing experience which gave me the opportunity to sing in amazing venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, which was one of the highlights of my career so far.

“Since then I have released several singles, including covers of Britney Spears’ Everytime and Coldplay’s Fix You. At the moment I’m working on recording an EP and hopefully an album in the near future.”

She says that her aim is to secure a record deal and adds that the career of Welsh mezzo soprano Katherine Jenkins has always been a huge inspiration for her.

Watch Leah’s version of O Holy Night on www.debraireland.org, to donate €4 to Debra Ireland, text BUTTERFLY to 50300.

To help, follow Debra Ireland on Instagram and Facebook and help make Ireland be #EBAware.