Think you’ve got what it takes to be next year’s Irish Eurovision entry and finally take home that elusive trophy? Those thinking they can fill Ryan O’Shaughnessy’s boots and keep the legions of Irish Eurovision fans happy at the same time need look no further – RTÉ has officially made a call out for musical talent!

There’s just one catch however – you have to be good!

RTÉ is inviting singers and songwriters with a track record of success in the music industry to submit a song for consideration. Spokesperson Michael Kealy said: “For Eurovision 2019 we want to produce a world class act that will do Ireland proud on stage in Tel Aviv and in front of a worldwide audience. The Eurovision Song Contest is incredibly competitive so we need a top class song, with instant appeal and a highly experienced act who is used to performing live in front of large audiences.”

He’s not joking about those large audiences, it was estimated 189 million people watched Lisbon hosting the last event.

Those interested should also prepare to knuckle down. Describing preparations for Ryan’s big night, Kealy said “months of work went into planning our act, bringing together the various audio and visual elements, from song arrangement to choreography to lighting design.”

The call out obviously answers the question over whether Ireland was going to perform at next year’s event considering the host country. Eurovision 2019 will take place in Tel Aviv after Israel’s entry, Netta, took home the trophy for her song ‘Toy’. There were initial calls for boycott due to Israel’s treatment of Palestine.

So if you think you could be your nation’s official Eurovision entry, and, more importantly, if you’re more of a Johnny Logan than a Dustin, check out www.rte.ie/eurovision for full details on how to enter. The closing date for submissions is 5pm on Friday November 23.