Ryan Dolan has been announced as the winning act to represent Ireland at the 58th Eurovision Song Contest in Malmő, Sweden this May.
Ryan battled it out against four other finalists on The Late Late Show’s Eurosong special last Friday evening, topping the vote among the public and regional juries.
Ryan composed his song ‘Only Love Survives’ with Wez Devine. The young singer-songwriter from Strabane in Co Tyrone has played support to many acts over the years including Tinchy Stryder and Jedward. Ryan has been described as one of the most exciting home-grown musical talents to be discovered in Ireland in recent years. His YouTube channel has received over 800,000 hits.
“I am thrilled to have been chosen to represent Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest,” said Ryan following the announcement. “A huge thank you to everyone who voted for the song tonight – I really appreciate it.
“I’d like to thank my family, friends and my mentor Stuart for all their support over the last few months. It’s such an honour to have been chosen to represent Ireland at Eurovision. I can’t wait to perform in MalmÅ‘ in May.”
The other acts who competed in Eurosong on The Late Late Show were Aimée singing ‘Crashing Down’, Zoë Alexis Bohorquez singing ‘Fire’, Inchequin singing ‘Son Kez (The Last Time)’ and Kasey singing ‘Kiss Me’.
Former Eurovision winners Lordi were also on hand to perform their Eurovision winning song ‘Hard Rock Hallelujah’. Lordi made history in 2006 by winning with a then record 292 points, becoming the first Finnish performer to win the contest.
This year’s Eurovision will be held in MalmÅ‘ in May, with Ireland competing in the first semi-final on Tuesday 14 May. The Eurovision final will take place on Saturday 18 May.
