When I was a youngster, I could remember watching a magic show on TV and thinking it was so cool. I even tried to abracadabra my way through bunnies appearing or finding someone’s card in a deck, but I never quite pursued the career. I kind of lost interest and became a writer instead. Oh well.

However, some kids discover magic at a young age and actually chase their dreams. We’re talking about Ireland’s Got Talent star, nine-year-old Aidan McCann. While Aidan didn’t win the show, he did make it to the live finals of the show, which is pretty impressive for such a young contestant.

Since he was just a ripe five year old, Aidan found himself mesmerized by watching other magicians on TV do their tricks. He was especially fascinated by famous illusionist Shin Lim, known for his elaborate close-up card magic routines.

From watching shows and reading up on the subject, Aiden was able to teach himself the art of magic.

The little tyke not only won over the audience on Ireland’s Got Talent with his magic tricks, but also Ellen DeGeneres—and he was recently invited onto the Ellen Show to show the TV celeb some of them.

Aidan brought along with him a few very simple items—just a deck of cards a blank CD, a CD case, and a notebook—to perform his tricks, and man, we can’t believe how talented this little dude is. And adorable.

“I’ve been doing magic for four years now,” Aidan explained on the show. “I started off with like magic kits, like sets of magic, and then I started doing card magic but one annoying thing is sometimes there are some really easy techniques I can’t do because I have small hands.”

Aidan, who is in third class at school, began his magic routine on the live show with the upmost confidence. Besides knowing how to simply do magic tricks, he’s no shy little bugger—he’s definitely nailed the performance part of the magic as well.

For example, at one point in the routine, he had Ellen choose a card from a deck and told her that he would have to read her mind to try to figure out what it was. After removing his glasses, he looks at her and says, “Look me right in the eyes. A bit harder, we need to connect!”

Ellen was so impressed with Aidan that she, as she does, wanted to give him a surprise. When she told him to take a look at the screen ahead of him for his surprise, he couldn’t believe who was talking back to him, telling him about the prize he had just won. Aidan’s reaction is too cute!

To find out what the surprise was, check out the video below!

Are you a fan of magic shows? How amazing is Aiden’s magic performance? Can you believe a nine-year-old was able to teach him so much about magic, and perform in such a confident way?