Niamh returns to Eurovision stage for Ireland

The Irish final featured some very famous names in the line-up. Apart from 1993 Eurovision Song Contest winner Niamh Kavanagh, we could find Mikey Graham, member of the highly successful boyband Boyzone. 

As composers, Ralph Siegel - who had written the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest winner Ein Bißchen Frieden - and Marc Paelinck, the mastermind behind the Belgian entries 2002 and 2004 as well as the Maltese entry 2009, were present.

Two of the composers, Niall Mooney and Jonas Gladnikoff, aren't strangers to the Eurovision Song Contest either as they wrote last year's Irish entry Et Cetera which was performed by Sinead Mulvey & Black Daisy. The song narrowly missed out on a final spot in Moscow.

The winner was decided by 50% regional jury vote and 50% televote.  The winner is no stranger to the Eurovision Song Contest at all as she won the competition in 1993 - and now Niamh Kavanagh is back for more with her Irish-style ballad It's For You!  Will she do the double and win again in Oslo in May?

You can see the Irish national final once again on our ESCTV player and see a video with her below. And even below that, check out her winning song!

Who is she?

In the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, before an international audience of over 350 million people, Niamh wowed audiences with a powerful rendition of In Your Eyes and achieved a resounding victory for Ireland. The second of Ireland’s famous three-in-a row victories, the song, In Your Eyes, went on to achieve double platinum status.

Niamh returns to the Eurovision Song Contest stage in 2010 inspired by the quality of the song It’s For You. An Irish/Swedish collaboration, this emotional ballad perfectly showcases her ability to tell a story through melody. 

Niamh has been singing for most of her life, beginning with choirs and small local bands, training her voice, while at the same time indulging her love for music. She really came into her own in 1990 when Alan Parker, director of The Commitments film, paid tribute to her vocal talent featuring her commanding renditions of several soul classics on the film’s hugely successful soundtrack album. She toured extensively with the group performing at such illustrious events as the 1992 Grammy Awards in New York and the Commitment to Life Concert in Los Angeles.

She has also collaborated with some of the finest Irish and international artists including, Mary Chapin-Carpenter, who featured on her debut album, Flying Blind and complimented Niamh on her unique voice.

She'll perform twelfth in the second Semi-Final on the 27th of May in Oslo, Norway.