50-year old Dubliner Mary Byrne has now been installed by British and Irish bookmakers  as the favourite to win this year's X-Factor final  following her amazing  performance at the auditions held in Croke Park in Dublin.

X Factor is where the Susan Boyle legend was born and Mary Byrne may well be following down the same road.

Simon Cowell and guest judge American Katy Perry pronounced her by far the best act on the  show to this point.She now goes forward to the London finals

The single mother from working class Ballyfermot in Dublin blew the judges away with her version of Dame Shirley Bassey's 'This Is My Life' and is already been heralded as Ireland's answer to Susan Boyle .

Mary is  a 50-year-old supermarket check-out clerk who has no professional singing experience.

A spokesman for bookmaker  Paddy Power commented: "X-Factor forums have been buzzing recently with rumors about Mary’s Croke Park performance and it seems they were absolutely right."

"We’ve taken over 200 bets on her to win this year’s X-Factor since last night's show was broadcast and already have been forced to cut her odds from 8-1 to 5-1. She seems to be the real deal and is definitely the one to beat", he added.