Cillian O'Connor, from Mornington in Co Meath, came third in the 16th season finale of "Britain's Got Talent" on Sunday night, June 4.
The Irish teen magician amazed the judges and audience by making the cohost of the show Ant McPartlin disappear, leading the other cohost, Dec Donnelly to remark "I need to know how to do that."
Judge Simon Cowell said, “I just think you’ve obviously got magical powers and I believe in that."
Fellow Judge Bruno Tonioli echoed his praise calling O'Connor "the embodiment of magic."
You can watch Irish teen magician Cillian O'Connor's "Britain's Got Talent" performance here:
Ultimately, O'Connor lost out on the top spots to 13-year-old dancer Lilliana Clifton, who came in second, and Norwegian comedian Viggo Venn who "captured the heart of the nation" with his high-vis-inspired routines. Venn walked away with a prize of £250k and will go on to perform at the Royal Variety Performance in November, which is attended by members of the British royal family.
After the show, O'Connor said "I feel brilliant because that's third place out of hundreds of thousands who have auditioned this year, so that's a huge achievement for me."
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O'Connor, who has autism and dyspraxia, has spoken about what magic means to him and how it's helped him navigate the world with a little more ease.
"I've learned that having autism is not a disability, it is an ability," O'Connor said during an earlier performance.
"When I was younger, I was unable to interact with people. I felt a bit empty, incomplete. I felt invisible."
O'Connor said discovering magic was "like a lightswitch" that helped him interact with people.
"Magic is my universe, and my life is now whole," O'Connor said.
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