Duffy is king of the castle

9th June 2008

http://www.herald.ie/entertainment/around-town/duffy-is-king-of-the-castle-1402735.html

Boyzone star Keith Duffy threw a massive medieval bash to mark his daughter Mia's First Holy Communion.

The singer was so proud of his autistic daughter celebrating the important religious milestone, a year after entering a mainstream school, that he decided to host a party in a castle for all his family and friends.

And he had good reason to be extra delighted with his gorgeous offspring's remarkable progress thanks to receiving Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA).

Before she received specialist help, Keith and his wife Lisa were told Mia might have to attend a special school for the rest of her young life and be dependent on them indefinitely.

"It was a fabulous day. We all headed down to Portlick Castle in Westmeath and we invited all the family and close friends down. It's this 2,000-year-old castle and we just took if over for the whole weekend and had this massive party," he explained.

"It was my way of saying 'thank you' to everyone for their amazing support over the past five years and just to celebrate Mia's achievements in mainstream school. I'm so proud of her and what she has achieved in such a short space of time."

Keith recently returned to the stage with his Boyzone pals after an eight year absence and said they got a "brilliant" reception when they played in Belfast, followed by the Wembley Arena.