Dubliner Gary O'Shaughnessy will represent Ireland in the 2001 Eurovision Song Contest in Denmark, singing Without]Your Love.
The song, a ballad written by a songwriter from Co Down, was selected out of seven entries by telephone vote during Eurosong 2001 on RTE television last night.
Louise Loughman presented the programme live on RTE.
Mr O'Shaughnessy is a full-time salesman but he plays guitar and piano in his spare time, doing session singing for television and radio advertisements. He is working on his own album.
The song was written by Pat Sheridan, who began his music career as a roadie with a local band, progressing to guitarist with a group called The Copycats, which has since regrouped as The Sidewinders. His day job is with Ulster Bus.
The Eurovision Song Contest 2001 will take place in the Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, on May 12th. Mr O'Shaughnessy will compete to bring the Eurovision Song Contest back to Ireland for the eighth time. Paddy Power Bookmakers has offered odds of 10:1 that he will win.