Jedward to front new tourism drive

The Jedward twins may not be appearing in this weekend’s X-Factor final but they will be on British radio stations promoting Irish tourism.

John and Edward Grimes (18), from Lucan, were the big stars of this year's competition although they were not particularly strong singers or dancers.

In an advertisements to be broadcast on some of British biggest commercial stations this weekend, Tourism Ireland apologise to the people of the UK for Jedward and, in particular, for the "haircuts, those PVC suits and the talking bit in Whoops, I Did It Again".

Jedward do not speak in the commercial, but have given their permission for it to be broadcast.

Love them or loathe them, Jedward are probably two of the best known Irish people in the UK at the moment though their fame is likely to be transitory.

Tourism Ireland's head in Britain, Lawrence Bate, said Jedward had captured the public imagination and were therefore in the right place to promote Irish tourism.

"It makes sense for Tourism Ireland to involve them in our new drive to attract British visitors. We are very grateful to the duo and their management for lending their weight to the new campaign to restore the British market to grow," he said.

"Radio is a very powerful medium for getting across the message that there is great value available on the island of Ireland now - great fares to get here, great offers from the industry and great value menus to be found in our restaurants and eateries."