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Eurovision 2023: ‘We’re shaking’ – Wild Youth to represent Ireland at this year’s contest after nail-biting vote

Conor O’Donohoe of Wild Youth who will represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023. Photo: Andres Poveda Expand
Wild Youth Expand
Broadcasters Marty Whelan and Ryan Tubridy (centre) with acts taking part in tonight’s Late Late Show Eurosong, including Wild Youth, ADGY, CONNOLLY, Johnny Lydon and Public Image Ltd, Leila Jane and K Muni & ND. Left: Johnny Lydon. Photo: Andres Poveda Expand
John Lydon with his band, Public Image Limited, who are competing in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin Expand
ADGY, one of the contestants in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin Expand
Leila Jane who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 . Photo: Andres Poveda Expand
K Muni & ND, (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare), who will compete in The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda Expand
CONNOLLY who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda Expand

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Conor O’Donohoe of Wild Youth who will represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023. Photo: Andres Poveda

Conor O’Donohoe of Wild Youth who will represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023. Photo: Andres Poveda

Wild Youth

Wild Youth

Broadcasters Marty Whelan and Ryan Tubridy (centre) with acts taking part in tonight’s Late Late Show Eurosong, including Wild Youth, ADGY, CONNOLLY, Johnny Lydon and Public Image Ltd, Leila Jane and K Muni & ND. Left: Johnny Lydon. Photo: Andres Poveda

Broadcasters Marty Whelan and Ryan Tubridy (centre) with acts taking part in tonight’s Late Late Show Eurosong, including Wild Youth, ADGY, CONNOLLY, Johnny Lydon and Public Image Ltd, Leila Jane and K Muni & ND. Left: Johnny Lydon. Photo: Andres Poveda

John Lydon with his band, Public Image Limited, who are competing in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

John Lydon with his band, Public Image Limited, who are competing in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

ADGY, one of the contestants in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

ADGY, one of the contestants in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

Leila Jane who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 . Photo: Andres Poveda

Leila Jane who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 . Photo: Andres Poveda

K Muni & ND, (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare), who will compete in The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

K Muni & ND, (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare), who will compete in The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

CONNOLLY who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

CONNOLLY who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

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Conor O’Donohoe of Wild Youth who will represent Ireland at Eurovision 2023. Photo: Andres Poveda

Seoirse Mulgrew Twitter Email

Wild Youth will represent Ireland at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest after narrowly defeating Connolly by two points in a nail-biting vote.

The four-piece band from Dublin have a string of top hits in Ireland, and have toured with names including Niall Horan, Lewis Capaldi and Westlife.

On top of their own sold-out tours of the UK and Ireland, Conor O'Donohoe from the band has also written a string of top hits for other artists, and co-written with Moncrief and The Script.

Their Eurovision entry, We Are One, was written with Grammy-nominated songwriter Jörgen Elofsson.

The band, made up of O’Donohoe, Ed Porter, Callum McAdam, and David Whelan will perform in Liverpool this May at the 67th Eurovision Song Contest in front of an audience of 160 million people around the world.

“We’re shocked, shaking, thank you to everyone who voted for us, we just hope we can do the best job for Ireland,” they told host Ryan Tubridy.

“We wanted to take a risk and do this and so many people told us we were mental, but we wanted to do this.”

The nation’s six hopefuls battled it out on a special edition of RTÉ’s Late Late Show tonight.

Viewers at home had the opportunity to cast their vote for their favourite song to help decide which act would represent Ireland at the competition in Liverpool.

Seasoned commentator Marty Whelan captured all the backstage action throughout the show while host Ryan Tubridy was joined in studio by an expert Eurovision panel including Jedward who represented Ireland in 2011 and 2012.

Here are the other five acts who competed to represent Ireland on tonight's show. 

John Lydon with his band, Public Image Limited, who are competing in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin Expand

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John Lydon with his band, Public Image Limited, who are competing in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

John Lydon with his band, Public Image Limited, who are competing in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

John Lydon with his band, Public Image Limited, who are competing in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

John Lydon and Public Image Ltd, aka PIL

Former Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon (formerly known as Johnny Rotten), now lead singer of PIL, was among the six contenders.

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Lydon grew up in London to Irish parents and said he wanted to represent Ireland because he is “as much Irish as anybody else by blood”.

Their entry to the Eurovision was a song titled Hawaii, which is described as a love letter to Lydon's wife of nearly five decades, Nora, who is living with Alzheimer’s.

ADGY, one of the contestants in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin Expand

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ADGY, one of the contestants in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

ADGY, one of the contestants in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

ADGY, one of the contestants in the Late Late Eurosong contest. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

ADGY aka Andrew Carr

The singer-songwriter from Co Donegal was hoping for success with his song Too Good For You.

The song was written as a piano ballad during lockdown and is a collaboration with producer Boksay.

The two artists worked together remotely in creating the final version of this song, which is described as "an upbeat high tempo dance track".

CONNOLLY who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda Expand

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CONNOLLY who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

CONNOLLY who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

CONNOLLY who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

Jennifer Connolly

Performer Connolly, from Leitir Meailláin in Connemara, Co Galway, performed her song Midnight Summer Night.

Her song is a track written one night during the pandemic when she was just 17.

She is currently in her first year of a creative music production course at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dublin.

Leila Jane who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 . Photo: Andres Poveda Expand

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Leila Jane who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 . Photo: Andres Poveda

Leila Jane who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 . Photo: Andres Poveda

Leila Jane who will compete at The Late Late Eurosong 2023 . Photo: Andres Poveda

Leila Jane

Leila is an Indie Pop singer-songwriter based in Dublin who was described as “one to watch’’ by Late Date’s Cathal Murray.

Imelda May selected her to be the recipient of the ‘Imelda May Scholarship’ at BIMM Institute Dublin, where she graduated with a first-class honours music degree.

Her song Wild has been described as an “empowering song about the strength of a woman’s spirit”.

For the track, she teamed up with Liis Hainla, an Estonian songwriter, Finnish producer Arto Ruotsala, and British songwriter Aaron Sibley.

K Muni & ND, (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare), who will compete in The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda Expand

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K Muni & ND, (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare), who will compete in The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

K Muni & ND, (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare), who will compete in The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

K Muni & ND, (Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare), who will compete in The Late Late Eurosong 2023 special. Photo: Andres Poveda

K Muni & ND

Kofi Appiah and Nevlonne Dampare are from Co Longford. Their song ‘Down in the Rain’ chronicles hard periods in their respective careers, and they said it’s a testament to their determination.

Down in the Rain, encourages listeners to never give up on their aspirations no matter how tough the road may seem.

This year’s Eurovision contest will be held in Liverpool on May 9, 11 and 13.

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