A puppet called Dustin the Turkey was chosen last night to represent Ireland in the 2008 Eurovision song contest, singing the song 'Irelande Douze Pointe'.
He was voted for by the public after a two-and-a-half hour competition broadcast by the Irish television station RTE. Although it was a telephone and text message vote, there was some booing from the live studio audience when the result was announced.
An exclusive interview with Dustin the Turkey.
Dustin will now take the hopes of the Irish nation to the final stages of the competition, which will be held in Belgrade, Serbia, in May. If he wins the title it will be Ireland's eighth victory.
The glove-puppet, a character on an Irish children's TV programme, won the heats despite having the backing of Dublin-born Bob Geldof, who declared that Dustin was 'one of the greatest talents this country has ever produced' and that he should represent Ireland's 'glorious musical heritage' on the world stage. 'The mere fact that he is a turkey should give Ireland the edge', said Geldof.
The winning performance.
Some of Ireland's higher-minded musicians, however, suffered a sense-of-humour failure when Dustin was chosen for the heats.
Frank McNamara, who wrote two Eurovision winners, asked whether RTE, the state broadcaster that selected the six acts, was 'giving two fingers' to Irish songwriters. 'I think it is absolutely disgraceful,' he said.
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