Eurovision hopeful's song to go unheard

RTÉ has confirmed just three songs will be put before the public on Friday night to be considered to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens in May.

This is despite a plea from the writer of a fourth song, which has been deemed ineligible, that his composition be heard as well. The three songs, which will be put to a public vote on Friday night's Late, Late Show, will be sung by Brian Kennedy, who has also written one of them.

Barry Walsh insists his song Strong Enough should be allowed to enter, arguing the "negligible" degree of exposure it has already had as a B-side on a charity single released in Co Donegal should not render it ineligible.

"I think people deserve to hear that song," he said.

Speaking on RTÉ's Liveline programme yesterday he said he thought people "would really see it as being something that would have a very good chance of winning and I think that it would represent Ireland very well.

"From my point of view, I'm disappointed but I'm even more disappointed for my wife, my three children, my family and friends in Cavan and Trim. I think that it was nice for them to share this achievement and I think it's just a mere technicality that we're not in there."

A spokeswoman insisted, however, that RTÉ had no choice but to apply the rules of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

"It's one of the main rules of the EBU that any song which enters Eurovision must be totally new and have never had a commercial release," she said.

The three songs to be sung by Kennedy this Friday will now be The Greatest Song of All, written by Jimmy McCarthy; All Over The World, written by Don Mescall; and Every Song Is A Cry For Love, written by Brian Kennedy.