Brian exits DWTS after facing fellow Kildare celeb in the dance-off

Sunday last saw Kildare's Brian Dowling and Sinead O'Carroll in the dance-off on RTÉ's popular TV competition Dancing with the Stars.

Brian was the fourth celebrity dancer to be eliminated in this year's DWTS.  Fr Ray Kelly was announced as one of the bottom three in the viewers poll (and also consistently achieves the lowest marks from the judges) but it was the two Kildare celebrities who faced each other in the dance-off.

The Rathangan man and his dance partner, Laura Nolan, performed a glam-rock filled tango to Prince’s ‘When Doves Cry'. While Brian loved the chosen music, he was disappointed with the judges scoring which totalled 15, the same score achieved by Fr Ray Kelly.

All three judges noted Brian always gave a marvellous performance, and brought a unique presence to the competition.

Judge Brian Redmond stated the tango lacked attack. “You did attack in the very last position, but it was a little bit too late by then”.

Julian Benson said: “You gave us a full on Prince experience. Lots of content, lost of choreography, lots of steps...but needed more attack into the routine”.

Loraine Barry similarly praised the timing and steps, poise and posture but again, the routine lacked impact.

Sinead O'Carroll and dance partner, Ryan commisserate with Brian and Laura after the dance-off

With love being the theme of Sunday night, Kildare's Sinéad O’ Carroll who topped the board the previous week, undertook a samba with her partner Ryan McShane, to ‘La Isla Bonita’.

While the judges didn't totally love the routine, the pair scored a very credible 24 points. Julian and Lorraine were high in praise of Sinead's skills, as she embraced the many difficult aspects in terms of content and choreography. Julian described the Kildare celeb as looking “sexy and sultry” and Lorraine praised their routine as a “competitive samba”.

Speaking with Ryan Tubridy on Monday last on RTÉ Radio 1, Brian Dowling stated he loved the whole experience and the support from his dance partner, Laura Cullen. Admitting he was never a great dancer, he noted for him the whole aspect of the performance was great fun, the costume, style and make over to be undertaken every week.

The previous week, Brian Dowling and professional dancer, Kai Widdrington performed a quickstep together, the first same sex dance pairing to perform on Dancing with the Stars.

Now Brian is looking forward to the hosting of 'Run for Rosie', an annual event hosted in Rathangan in memory of their late mother, Rosie.