Niall Horan was in his element at Friday night's Electric Picnic as he played to his biggest audience to date as a solo artist, telling the 70,000-plus Stradbally crowd: "I love our little country, I love being here tonight."
At the end of his set, the 29-year-old said: "I wish I could put into words how this felt. From Patrick Street, Mullingar to this...
"This is a country with less than five million people - and the noise that we make worldwide is insane. And as long as you would like me to, I'm happy to fly the flag for our little country all over the planet.
"I love our little country, I love being here tonight. I love you all. Thank you so much for coming out to see me. And then I hope you all get lost in the woods somewhere there later on!"
Horan continued that he had heard "mad ******* things about this place".
"You know you'll have a text from your mother in about two hours," he joked.
The One Direction favourite said playing at Electric Picnic had been "an absolute dream come true".
"This is by far the biggest audience I've played to as a solo artist and I really appreciate it, the support from my home nation.
"And it's great to be back in the Midlands, only an hour away from home, and have this. Thank you all so much."
"I love you all and I'll see you next year in Dublin," he concluded before launching into his first solo hit, Slow Hands.
During his set, Horan paid tribute to the late Sinéad O'Connor by covering Nothing Compares 2U.
The festival continues until Sunday.
