Sunday Mirror: AHOY THERE JIM

TREASURE Island superbitch Aoife MacCana has been going on a string of romantic dates with superstar Jim Corr.

The Corr's guitarist and the reality TV star hit it off when they met a number of weeks ago in Aoife's home city of Galway.

The 29-year-old teacher has proudly told her friends about her new celebrity boyfriend.

One of her pals said: "They got on like a house on fire, they spent the rest of the evening chatting away.

The two of them have gone out on a few dates since and Aoife hasn't stopped talking about him.

"She's telling everyone she's going out with Jim Corr. She thinks it's great."

Aoife - known for her bitchiness on the show - had just returned home from Treasure Island when she bumped into multimillionaire Jim, 38.

Pals say the pair were immediately smitten and spent the rest of the evening getting to know each other in the plush Raddisson Hotel.

Afterwards, they exchanged telephone numbers and arranged to meet again. And Aoife was given a lift home in Jim's limo.

One pal said: "It looks like the beginning of a serious relationship. They've only just met but they have been out together a bunch of times already.

"They can't seem to see enough of each other. She really is proud to be going out with him."

The teacher from Spiddal has attracted media criticism for her talking on the show.

She has earned the reputation as a bitch on Treasure Island for her barbed comments on her team-mates.

Aoife is already one of the most unpopular contestants on the show because the others think she is bossy and lazy.

She told the show: "The people on this team are all over the place and I'm used to having a little more direction and having everything set out.

"I'd be very happy to be the first to be eliminated."

Viewers have seen her complain about Cork dad-of-four Dave O'Brien, saying: "Dave is driving me up the wall. He hasn't an ounce of sense, he keeps repeating things and playing up to the camera."

And according to Aoife, Wicklow immunologist Chantelle, 29, is not able for the challenge of life on the island.

She said: "Chantelle has had enough and is not strong enough for this show."

The winner of Treasure Island is being kept top secret, but even if Aoife has won the EUR70,000 jackpot it would be a drop in the financial ocean compared to the great wealth of her boyfriend Jim Corr.

The Corrs are one of the biggest bands in Europe, with huge album sales in a string of countries.

Jim and his sisters Andrea, Caroline and Sharon are estimated to be worth millions.

But despite his wealth, Jim has been unlucky in love over the past number of years.

Blonde Aoife is very different to his former girlfriends, who have all been tall, long-haired brunettes.

Just recently, Jim was said to be upset after the end of a brief relationship with a shop assistant half his age. They split after a few dates.

Dublin teenager Gina Elliott met Jim in a bar in the capital and he was so impressed that he asked her to join him for dinner that night.

He even called to her at work in the Lipstick boutique in Nutgrove Shopping Centre.

But gorgeous Gina, 19, said she wasn't interested in the Dundalk superstar and they split soon after.

A friend of Gina's said: "She just didn't fancy him, although she thought he was a very nice person."

Before Gina, Jim was linked with former Miss Ireland Andrea Roche, 27.

Meanwhile, on this week's Treasure Island, the contestants are shocked to learn of the harsh new 'Russian-roulette' style elimination process, which will change the show completely.

The winning team of the weekly challenge are taken to a secret location where they are shown eight unlit torches in the sand, placed around a fire.

They must each stand in front of a torch and one-by-one, pick it up and put it into the fire.

One torch will not light - and the person with that torch must immediately choose one of their team to be eliminated. They cannot eliminate themselves.

Then the eliminated person must walk over to the other team and choose one of them to be kicked out.

Both teams are terrified of the new elimination process as it means that the winning team can remove their weakest player and eliminate the opposition's strongest.

Another drama centres around Chantelle, who becomes seriously ill from lack of food. She does not eat fish and as a result, has eaten almost nothing since her arrival.

Earlier Aoife told Treasure Island producers that her main reason for going on the show was to win the EUR70,000 prize.

She said: "I have no interest in fame or attention. My main reason for applying was for the money. Money and experience - but the money definitely comes first."