The 18-year-old is splitting his week between McDonald’s shifts in Belfast and treading the boards in London.
Dara McNaughton at McDonald’s Connswater
Meet Dara McNaughton, an 18-year-old Northern Ireland performer who is splitting his week between restaurant shifts in Belfast and treading the boards in London.
One day, Dara McNaughton is at McDonald’s Connswater steering the lunchtime rush; the next, he’s England-bound for musical theatre training and drama school auditions.
Originally from Portstewart, Dara works as a Customer Experience Leader under the golden arches in east Belfast in a front-of-house role he says he loves.
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Having previously worked in a fine-dining restaurant, the teen joined McDonald’s in September 2024 and now works up to five days a week.
“McDonald’s has been a fantastic employer,” he said. “In terms of getting time off, the team has been very accommodating.”
He credits that flexibility with allowing him to pursue acting properly: “Restaurant work is hard but it’s also great fun socially. At McDonald’s, you can play for the football team and there are loads of nights out There are also plenty of opportunities to advance career-wise.”
Dara is the only child of “very supportive” parents – his mum Kim is the editor of a local magazine, while his dad Cathal is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer.
He said they backed his somewhat unorthodox choices early, particularly when he wanted to pursue a non-academic path.
“School wasn’t for me,” he said. “When I was 16, I decided to drop out and study musical theatre full time.”
Last year, Dara completed a Level 4 diploma in Musical Theatre at the Alfie Boe James Huish Academy of Theatre Arts in west Belfast. Essentially, it meant four days a week of training, singing and dancing.
It’s a pathway he described as “difficult to access here because there are so few opportunities in Northern Ireland.”
He said: “A lot of young local performers simply don’t get the chances – or the practical support – to pursue it at the level required.”
Dara said he knows he was one of the lucky ones, adding: “Mum and dad have been great.”
This year, he has been travelling to London every month as part of the Emerging Talent Programme at Italia Conti, while also auditioning for drama schools.
On stage, Dara has already landed leading roles in productions at two of Belfast’s best-known venues, the Lyric and the MAC. Off stage, he has worked as a singer at some of Northern Ireland’s leading corporate events, including local business and magazine awards.
He has also worked professionally as an actor, with credits including BBC’s ‘Mourning Glory’ and RTE’s ‘I Dream in Photos’, as well as appearances in ‘Dublin Loves Panto’ at the RDS.
Back at McDonald’s Connswater, Dara says his current role suits him perfectly: “My Customer Experience Leader role means I’m front of house, interacting with customers. Before that I was a Crew Member, working in the kitchen, learning that side of the business.”
And if the next step in his acting career takes him permanently to London, Dara said he hopes “the McDonald’s chapter continues there too”.
Connswater franchisee Paul Connan – who also owns the Boucher Road, Donegall Place and Ballygomartin McDonald’s restaurants – said Dara brings energy and commitment to every shift.
“Dara is a dedicated and hard-working employee,” he said. “He’s a well-liked member of staff who always gives 100%. We love having him around and appreciate the enthusiasm he brings to the job.”
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