Lucky draw sees six-year-old Swiftie bag tickets
A six-year-old girl has spoken of her delight after her mother won tickets in a community raffle for them to see her idol Taylor Swift perform live in Dublin.
Aria and her mother Nicole McDaid, who is also a self-confessed Swiftie, said they still cannot believe they will be seeing the global superstar in concert.
Ms McDaid said they were both devastated when the pair missed out on general sale tickets.
The mother from Strabane, County Tyrone, told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme that she had to leave work early because she was crying so much after realising she had won.
'Down to our last hope'
The record-breaking and globally renowned popstar will be bringing her hotly anticipated Eras tour to the Aviva Stadium for three sold-out nights beginning on Friday 28 June.
Ms McDaid said when she missed out on tickets for the summer, she then went on a full-scale operation to try and source tickets, checking resale sites and "entering any competition going".
“I had everyone trying to get us tickets for it, we had a whole crowd of us online desperately looking, but had no luck whatsoever," she said.
“We were down to our last hope and we ended up entering this raffle as a bit of a last roll of the dice.”
“I just put down for a random number, 34, and I was watching it live streamed in my work.
“I was shouting and screaming in work.
"I work in a Chinese restaurant, but I actually had to go outside because I just couldn’t stop crying.”
She described some customers at the restaurant actually offering her money for the tickets there and then after hearing that she won them.
Ms McDaid said telling her daughter the news over the phone, who was staying with her grandmother at the time was a moment of pure joy.
“Aria could hear me on the phone crying and actually asked me: ‘What is wrong with mammy?’
“I don’t think she actually believed me when I told her.
"I still don’t think she believes it – she probably won’t believe it until she’s there.”
Ms McDaid said Aria and her will be at the Aviva, proudly wearing their Taylor Swift friendship bracelets, belting out her hits.
Aria said she is “really excited” to see Taylor Swift and cannot wait to hear her favourite song, Blank Space, performed live.
Her mother said there will likely be plenty of tears again when they share a special “mum and daughter moment together” as Taylor Swift takes to the stage.
