To prove that life is made of ups and downs we just need to look at the Dolan family in Strabane, Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Firstly one of their sons, Ryan Dolan, wins the Irish National final to select the artist for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden.
Then they find out that the song Only love survives is charting in Sweden even before they travel to the big event.
In the first semi-final Ireland are drawn out third and qualify for the final. The fans predict one of Ireland’s best placing for years. Perhaps a top ten or even a top five.
Then it all seems to come crashing down as Ryan and his troupe come last, having received points from only three countries, Cyprus (2 points), Sweden (2 points) and United Kingdom (1 point).
But that is not the end of the story. In the week following the contest this Irish entry that achieved such a seemingly disastrous result in the Contest is found to have charted in 30 countries, showing that you do not need success on the night to achieve success with the record-buying public.
The icing on the cake was confirmed today in the media as Ryan’s brother and sister-in-law, Sacha and Donna, were confirmed to have won £76,918.00 after buying £10 of Lucky Dips in the UK National Lottery on 15 May 2013.
Life is looking good for Ryan and his family in more ways than one.
