Over a thousand songs submitted, only four made the short list. However one of the four wasn't only previously recorded–it has a Eurovision connection. Thus Ireland will choose from among three remaining songs next Friday.

With established and highly regarded artist Brian Kennedy tapped as their representative, Ireland has taken an unprecendent interest in this year's contest. From over a thousand songs submitted, a short list of four songs was chosen. Less than a week to go and the four song titles and authors have been published–only to discover that one of the songs does not meet EBU eligibility criteria.

Barry Walsh's Strong Enough has been previously released as the B-side of a single by John Walsh and Roisin O'Reilly, making it ineligible for the Contest. In fact, their single was the Irish OGAE club's entry for the 2002 OGAE Second Chance song contest. With only four songs making the short list, it's perplexing how RTÉ were unable to scrutinize their short list to ensure adherence to EBU eligibility rules.

With only 5 days before the Irish selection, there's not enough time to select, arrange and record a new song from those submitted. Instead, Brian Kennedy will only perform three songs.