Nicky Byrne will represent Ireland with a song he co-wrote called Sunlight

After much speculation and anticipation, Nicky Byrne has officially been revealed as Ireland’s entry for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest.

Of the announcement, Nicky said:

“I’m absolutely over the moon. I really am. To be given the opportunity to represent our country is huge,” Nicky told RTÉ. “I’m really looking forward to it… We have what we feel is a really catchy, kind of pop/soft rock song.”

Nicky has long been a fan of the competition, saying: “I have a great memory as a nine-year-old, of dancing around our sitting room in a tri-colour sweatshirt when Johnny Logan lifted the trophy in 1987.”

Nicky co-wrote the song Sunlight with renowned songwriter Wayne Hector and award-winning composer Ronan Hardiman.

“It isn’t a ballad, it’s a very up tempo song, it is very radio friendly. People will make their own minds up, but we really have given what we feel is our best chance, from our point of view,” Nicky said.

This year RTÉ  departed from the Eurosong format of picking a song. and the mentor format which it has engaged over the last eight years.

Head of Entertainment, RTÉ Television, John McHugh, said of the decision to directly select Nicky instead of going down the Eurosong route once more, “We have a long and proud history with Eurovision, but we’ve had mixed results over the last few years.

“Myself and Head of Delegation Michael Kealy took a serious look at our approach, reviewing the entire process and the Eurovision Song Contest itself. The competition is constantly evolving and RTÉ has to be flexible in how we approach it in order to put our best foot forward. Direct selection has proven to be a successful method for other countries and we felt that this year it would give us the best chance at success.”