Horan reveals hurt over loss of friend and band mate, Liam

Síofra Grant

Niall Horan revealed a side to himself the public hadn’t really seen before when he appeared on the Tommy Tiernan Show last Saturday week.

In what was quite a raw conversation, the Mullingar star discussed the late Liam Payne, his friend and former One Direction band mate.

Niall and Tommy discuss his upbringing in Mullingar, his parents, the road to X Factor and stardom, and bonding with his father over the English football team Derby County.

“I went to my first Derby match when I was six, and came back having seen Steven Gerrard play.”

Tiernan asked if anyone ever teased him for supporting such a niche team. “Did lads ever hit you?” he asked.

The pair giggled for a moment before Niall said: “ Oh no they’d say that, they’d give me the same reaction you gave me.

“When I was in primary school, we did little carol services that we’d have in the hall,” the star told Tommy. But he stands by his team.

He also recalled what first got him interested in singing, going way back to his time in primary school and a particularly influential teacher who he’s still in contact with today.

“I remember I had a teacher called Anne Caulfield, Miss Caulfield. She was the one who sorted out everyone’s solo parts in Away in a Manger.

“And she would give them (solos) to me.”

It was then that Tommy urged the singer/songwriter to “give us a blast of it there” and he obliged.

Years later, that love of singing took Niall to the X Factor when he was in fifth year of secondary school and at just 16 became one of the biggest stars in the world.

However, as Tommy puts it, singing wasn’t Niall’s only career path.

“You’re playing for Westmeath isn’t that where the story is going,” joked the host.

“I played corner forward,” replied the star with a laugh.

Unsurprisingly the conversation veered towards the topic of Liam Payne.

In October 2024, Liam Payne, a former member of One Direction tragically passed away in Argentina, and Niall had met up with him just two weeks beforehand.

“We had a chat. He came around to my hotel room in the daytime, and we had a coffee, and then he came to the gig that night, he was in the dressing room before and then, yeah, came to the show. It was great to see Liam.”

Niall finished up the tour in Columbia a week later and returned home.

“I was only home after a big long stint on the road, ended the tour and then I was just at home one night.

“I’ve got a text. I was just about to go to sleep and the phone lights up, and you have a look, one last look.”

The text informed Niall of his friend’s death.

“It was just pure shock and I knew he’d had a couple of issues, but because I wasn’t around him like I was in previous years all the time.

“I didn’t realise to what extent or anything like that. I knew there was some stuff going on but I wasn’t aware of the depth. And then you go through the stages of grief that I probably haven’t touched the sides on yet. You know, I grew up with this fella, and all of a sudden it’s no more.

“It’s such a strange thing you go through. Like, what could I have done if I’d known more? Should I have dug more into it? I just kept thinking about his little son and things like that.”

But, Niall perseveres and is gearing up to release his new album Dinner Party, this summer. He recently announced his European tour dates, including three in Dublin and two in Belfast.

Dinner Party is out on June 5. The full interview from the Tommy Tiernan Show is available on RTÉ player.