There aren’t many teenagers in the world who are millionaires, but One Direction star Niall Horan is one of them, thanks of course to the astounding global success of the band who were put together by The X Factor…

And Niall’s dad Bobby has told the Daily Record that his son is “very lucky” to have found such a lucrative career at such a young age, because back home in Ireland, teens who went to school with Niall are finding it hard to get jobs and are therefore, “living in very hard times.”

However, fame of course comes with a price, and for Niall, and the rest of the 1D boys, that price is the constant attention from fans and the media, so Bobby revealed that when his son comes home to Mullingar, he likes to be “just Niall.”

Bobby said, “When he comes home, he wants to be just Niall and leave ‘Niall from One Direction’ behind…

“I know it’s pretty hard for him to get away but here everyone’s very proud of him and no one bothers him.

“He’s through the door and straight to his room and, when we do talk, he does it while he’s strumming his guitar and you have to talk to him over the chords.

“It’s very funny but that’s the way he is.

“He’s not a big drinker but we often go for a pint when he’s home. He’s got very good friends here.

“He even flew one of them, Sean Cullen, out to America – they grew up together.”

Bobby added, “Obviously he didn’t get any school qualifications because of X Factor but he’s a very intelligent boy.

“He loved doing music at school – he couldn’t wait for the Christmas concert every year…

“We’re living in very hard times here in Ireland.

“There are people leaving this town in their droves for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US because there are no jobs here.

“These people have to go, there’s no choice for them, whereas Niall has his choice, doing what he loves.

“Niall’s friends have no hope when they finish. It’s very likely they’ll end up on the dole.

“He’s now in a completely different league to the people from here. We’re very conscious of how lucky he is to be in this position.”

“He always wanted to be in the music business but things could have gone the other way. In his audition he was very close to going out…

“He’s had the lucky break that a lot of very talented people out there deserve but never get.”

“I hope he invests his money very wisely and doesn’t do anything airy-fairy with it.

“Niall and I have a laugh about things like Maseratis, Aston Martins and expensive watches and all the other things celebrities and pop stars choose to do with their money.

“It won’t be the way he goes, I can assure you. He hasn’t even got his driving licence – he’s had no time to have lessons.”

And finally, Bobby said of his son, “He works very hard with One Direction but he loves it.

“Niall absolutely loves life, doesn’t take things too seriously and doesn’t get hung up about anything.”