By Eilisha Devlin
A DONEGAL magician has said it was an honour to receive a letter of congratulations from King Charles after he received a major international award in England.
Dylan Murray, the hugely popular Donegal magician, was awarded ‘The Pride of Éireann International Award 2026’ in Manchester.
It was presented at the Manchester Deansgate Hotel at a gala event last month. And it seems the award has drawn the attention of the King of England.
Dylan grew up in Keadue in Burtonport and always had an interest in magic as a young boy. He would go on to be the first person in Ireland to graduate with an official Doctor of Magic PHD from the Magic Academy in New York.
As a professional magician, Dylan’s achievements have included winning the Dublin Variety Show in 2017. He was also awarded the Merlin Award by the International Magicians Society in 2021 and now he can count the Pride of Eireann International Award 2026 to that list.
Fellow winners alongside Dylan at the recent awards ceremony nclude Nathan Carter, former World Snooker champion Dennis Taylor, and the Nolan sisters.
This award has a history of Irish legends behind its winners, including Brendan O’Carroll, Gloria Hunniford, Frank Carson and Keith Duffy.
Dylan Murray giving his speech after receiving his award
All of these achievements saw Dylan receive a personal letter of congratulations from the King of England, King Charles III.
Dylan showed his gratitude on social media expressing, “it is one of the greatest honours of my life.”
Sharing a quote from his letter, it said, “The King was most interested in learning about Dylan Murray and his remarkable achievements as a magician.”
Dylan added:, “The rest of the letter I have decided to keep private as it is deeply personal to me and something I will treasure for the rest of my life.”
Dylan encapsulates his career by quoting, “Follow your dream and remember to quote the late great Irish poet Seamus Heaney, “walk on air against your better judgement.”
Dylan Murray with The Pride of Eireann International Award 2026