To commemorate ten years since winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 in Oslo, Ireland's last winner Eimear Quinn will be giving the points from Ireland in the final voting from Athens this year.
Eimear won ten years ago with the Celtic ballad The voice, at the very last contest which was decided by 100% jury voting. She took the Irish tally of wins to its current total of seven, the highest in the history of the contest so far.
Eimear's job will be slightly shorterthanin previous years,with the announcement of only the eight, ten and douze points from each country spokesperson. Nonetheless, it is a job the singer is looking forward to greatly.
Third solo album
Since winning the Eurovision Song Contest, Eimear has been working hard in the studio, and her long awaited third solo album, Gatherings, was released on May 8th. A concert at the Íontas Theatre in Castleblaney marked the release of the album. You can find out more at Eimear's website at eimearquinn.com.
Neighbouring UK also announced who will be announcing the points for Le Royaume Uni – television presenter Fearne Cotton, from BBC's CBBC, who was on the panel of expert judges at the UK national selection for 2006, Making your mind up.
To all of this year's participants – and particularly her home representative Brian Kennedy – Eimear extends a warm good luck!
