Niall Breslin (born 22 October 1980), known as Bressie, is an Irish musician, former

Westmeath "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = , subdivis ...

Gaelic footballer and

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

player. Breslin found success as the lead singer, guitarist, songwriter with pop band

The Blizzards The Blizzards are an Irish band from Mullingar in County Westmeath. They were formed by Niall Breslin in late 2004, and also feature Dec Murphy (drums), Justin Ryan, Anthony Doran, Louize Carroll (bass) and Aidan Lynch (keyboards). They have a ...

, as a co-writer and producer with

XIX Entertainment XIX Entertainment is an entertainment content and intellectual rights organisation based in North America and Europe. The company, which has been valued at $100 million was set up by Simon Fuller in 2010 to commercially develop world class individ ...

and as a solo artist. He was the winning coach on the first, third and fifth seasons of ''

The Voice of Ireland ''The Voice of Ireland'' is the Irish edition of the international TV franchise ''The Voice'', a reality singing competition created by media tycoon John de Mol. The first series began airing from 8 January 2012 on RTÉ One. The coaches origina ...

''.

Biography

Early life

Born in Dublin to father Enda and mother Mandy, Breslin is the second youngest of five children, including siblings Ronan, Laura, Julie and Andrea. At the age of two, he and his family moved to

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeat ...

, and attended

Coláiste Mhuire Marino Institute of Education (Irish: ) is an Irish College of Education, an associated College of Trinity College Dublin. It is located on Griffith Avenue, Dublin 9. Marino Institute of Education is focused on providing education courses. Its ...

in the town. As a result of Enda's military deployment when Breslin was 13, the family relocated to

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

for five months. Breslin attended

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

on a sports scholarship, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Sociology (2003) and a Masters Degree in Mindfulness Based Interventions (2019). In 2022, Breslin was awarded UCD Alumnus of the Year in Social Sciences.

Sports career

Breslin represented

, in

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

at Minor, and U-21 Championship levels. He won a

Leinster Under-21 Football Championship The Leinster GAA Football Under-20 Championship, known simply as the Leinster Under-20 Championship, is an annual inter-county Gaelic football competition organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highes ...

medal with

in 2000. He was also a professional rugby player with

. He had a scholarship in UCD for rugby and also represented Ireland at Under-21 level in the World Cup.

Writing career

In 2015, Breslin published his first book ''Me and My Mate Jeffrey'', a combination memoir/self-help book. "Jeffrey" is a personification of Breslin's anxiety disorder. The book won the 2015

Irish Book Award The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. In 2018 An Post took over sponsorship of the awards from Bord Gais Energy. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. ...

for popular non fiction.

Podcast

In July 2019, Breslin launched a podcast called Where Is My Mind? which focuses on mental health and wellbeing. In April 2020, Breslin followed up his previous podcast with another series focusing on mental wellbeing and meditation, this time exclusively for Spotify, called Wake Up / Wind Down (UK & IE).

Music career

The Blizzards

With childhood friends, Breslin formed

in 2004. They released two albums that achieved commercial success, ''

A Public Display of Affection ''A Public Display of Affection'' is the debut album from Irish band The Blizzards. All lyrics were written by Niall Breslin Niall Breslin (born 22 October 1980), known as Bressie, is an Irish musician, former Westmeath GAA, Westmeath Gae ...

'' in 2006 and ''

Domino Effect A domino effect or chain reaction is the cumulative effect generated when a particular event triggers a chain of similar events. This term is best known as a mechanical effect and is used as an analogy to a falling row of dominoes. It typically ...

'' in 2008. The band split up in 2009. Following the band's split, Breslin joined

Simon Fuller Simon Fuller (born 17 May 1960) is a British entrepreneur, artist manager, and film and television producer renowned for nurturing and inspiring world class entertainment talent. He is the creator of the ''Idols'' TV format, including the UK s ...

as a songwriter and producer in 2010.

Solo career

In 2011, Breslin released a solo album, ''Colourblind Stereo''. Four singles were released from the album. During a performance at the Festival of Fires in Westmeath on 5 May 2012, he urged thousands of fans to vote against the government coalition of

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

, saying before leaving the stage “I don’t normally do politics, but this Government is an awful bollocks. I want to make an appeal to all you people out there. Don't make the same mistakes we did by voting them in again.” In 2012, he was a coach on the inaugural season of ''

'', mentoring the winner, Pat Byrne. Through the end of 2012, Breslin began work on his second solo album "Rage and Romance". A music video was filmed for '' Show Me Love'', featuring ''

Moone Boy ''Moone Boy'' is an Irish sitcom created, co-written by and co-starring Chris O'Dowd for British broadcaster Sky One. The series is co-written by Nick Vincent Murphy and is produced by Baby Cow Productions, Sprout Pictures, Hot Cod Productions ...

'' actors

David Rawle David Rawle (born 16 October 2000) is an Irish actor from Carrigallen, County Leitrim. He is best known for starring in the Irish sitcom ''Moone Boy'', co-written by and co-starring Chris O'Dowd. His first audition for acting was for Santa Cl ...

and Ian O'Reilly. In 2014 Breslin appeared on the second series of ''Moone Boy'' as a PE Teacher. In January 2014, Breslin announced putting his solo career as a recording artist on hold, with the intention to focus on his work as a judge on The Voice of Ireland and writing and producing music.

Personal life

In late March 2013, Breslin opened up on his blog about his struggles with

Generalized anxiety disorder Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by excessive, uncontrollable and often irrational worry about events or activities. Worry often interferes with daily function ...

. Having experienced a severe panic attack on a live show taping during the first season of

, Breslin sought professional help and ultimately decided to manage his anxiety by adopting a more active lifestyle. He began training for a triathlon, in support of Lakelands Area Retreat & Cancer Centre (LARCC), a foundation on which his mother serves as director. Breslin is also an ambassador for

Cycle Against Suicide Mental health in the Republic of Ireland is the subject of state and community sector intervention in Ireland. The Irish state devolves responsibility for mental health to the Department of Health. Community groups and charities also provide supp ...

(CAS), an organisation that seeks to raise awareness and bring support to those dealing with

mental health issues A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

. In April and May 2013, Breslin participated as a cyclist with CAS, in a series of legs around Ireland, stopping at local schools to give mental health-related talks and also he was dating

Miss Universe Ireland Miss Universe Ireland is a national beauty pageant that has selected Ireland's representative to the Miss Universe pageant since 2002. History Beginning in 2002 Andrea Roche, who represented Ireland at Miss Universe 1998 in the United States, w ...

2010 Rozanna Purcell.

Discography

;Studio albums ;Singles ;Guest appearances * 2012 – " Rocky Road to Poland"

References

External links

Twitter
*

Friday interview: Bressie
''

Hogan Stand Hoganstand.com is a news website and the online face of the monthly Gaelic games magazine ''Hogan Stand'', which is distributed throughout Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atla ...

'', 15 March 2013. {{DEFAULTSORT:Breslin, Niall 1980 births Living people Alumni of University College Dublin Gaelic footballers who switched code Irish male guitarists Irish record producers Irish rock guitarists Irish rugby union players Irish male singer-songwriters Irish television personalities Leinster Rugby players Mullingar Shamrocks Gaelic footballers Newstalk presenters People from Mullingar The Voice of Ireland Sportspeople from County Westmeath Westmeath Gaelic footballers 21st-century Irish male singers 21st-century guitarists Rugby union flankers