Mark’s Facts

-If Mark was to advertise in a lonely hearts column, here's the sort of thing you might see: Up for it paddy, well-built with nice eyes, shy and sensitive, enjoys soccer, tennis and pool, seeks a Mariah Carey look-alike girlfriend who's a good laugh for great nights out and in. Anyone with facial hair or bad breath need not apply.

-Mark's met Whitney Houston and thinks she's a superstar.

-Sometimes Mark parties so hard he doesn't get home until 3am!

-Mark's parents and his Gran both video things for him when he's away. Aww!

-Mark used to be chased by loud girls back home in Sligo. They would come running along the street shouting "Ooh Marky snuggle bunny!". They thought it was funny but Mark found it rather embarrassing.

-Mark's ideal partner would have to be easy-going and someone you could have a good laugh with. If they were too possessive then that would be a turn-off for him.

-Mark's worst Valentine's day was when he didn't get a card from the girl he fancied. "I used to send her a card every year and her Mum used to make her send me one back. But then one year she stood up to her Mum and I didn't get one. I was so disappointed!"

-Mark can still remember a dream he had when he was just a kid. "I had this nightmare that I was going on holiday with my parents on this ferry. For some reason though, when our car was driving onto the ferry, I wasn't on it. I was left behind, completely on my own. It was awful. I dreamt this about 10 years ago but I still remember it. It really freaked me out."

-Mark's guide to food shopping in a hurry is as follows: 1. Buy loads of boil in the bag meals 2. Bring your mate to help you 3. Wear trainers so you can run around the store instead of walking 4. Shop in your local store not a supermarket 'cause you've got less of an area to cover 5. Get your money ready whilst you're queuing instead of searching for it when you get to the checkout.

-Believe it or not, the best break-up Mark has had was when he split up with his girlfriend of five months. "It was three days before Valentine's day - it was like a breath of fresh air for me - I enjoyed my freedom!"

-When Mark was younger he hated vegetables and used to tell his Mum he was giving them up as a new years resolution.

-Mark's top five smells are: 1. Cut grass 2. Strawberry scented soaps 3. Pipe tobacco (although he doesn't like smoking) 4. His Granny's baked Irish soda bread 5. Girls' freshly washed hair.

-The video for If 'I Let You Go' still confuses Mark. "I never understood what the men were building - some sort of flagpoles maybe - I really don't have a clue!"

-A fan once gave Mark a turnip in a box as a present. It still had earth on it as if it had just been pulled from the ground.

-Mark is a very paranoid person. When he found out that there was going to be a story printed about him in a newspaper dating a Page 3 model, he was worried that his granny would be ashamed of him.

-Mark enjoys nothing better than a shower. "If I'm in a hurry, I can do the whole thing in two and a half minutes", he bragged, "but if I've got all the time in the world, I'll take ages. I'll wash my hair like seven times, not because I want to wash my hair but because I love the shower. It's so relaxing."

-Mark takes size 9½ shoes

-Mark had his very first big kiss in a very romantic location on holiday in France while on an exchange trip. She was an Irish girl and he thought the kiss was disgusting for about two seconds before changing his mind and deciding he really liked it!

-Mark used to drive his parents car up and down the drive when he was just 13 years old.

-Mark loves scaring himself by listening to ghost stories and easily gets worked up about spooky happenings. Once he even convinced himself that his granny's cat, Snowy, was going to come back from the dead and haunt him - but it never did.

-Mark never goes anywhere without his protective charm. "I've got a thing like two teabags on a string. It's called a Scapular. It's meant to protect you. I take it everywhere with me."

-Mark's teddy bear came a cropper when it was kidnapped in America. But Mark didn't have to look far to find the masterminds behind this crime. "We handcuffed it's hands together, tied it up with rope and put a bandana over it's eyes" said Nicky. "Then we went and showed Mark. We were like, 'Look! We're holding it to ransom, if you want it, come and get it'. Mark was a bit freaked out, but we had a laugh!"

-Mark thinks his nose is too big.

-Mark once snogged two cousins in one night.

-Mark is fluent in Gaelic.

-One of the many jobs that Mark did before he joined Westlife included delivering pizzas.

-Mark used to have a crush on Kristy Wright who played Chloe in the Australian soap Home And Away. He was totally bonkers about her for years.

-Mark says he would pose naked - but only if he was paid a million quid.

-Mark was once weed on by his aunties cat.

-Whilst Mark's dead proud to be from Ireland, he apparently hates having an Irish accent. He thinks that it makes him sound like a farmer.

-Mark's absolutely terrified of birds.

-Mark once dressed up as a woman for a Scout show.