Ireland's Eurovision hopeful Brooke Scullion has been contacted by fellow Derry girl and former winner Dana, who has offered to help her chalk up what would be an unprecedented eighth victory for the country.
Scullion (22), from Bellaghy, was chosen from six contestants on the Late Late Show on Friday night to represent Ireland at the annual song contest. The event will be held in Turin, Italy in May and will be watched by a global audience of 180 million.
Her song, That’s Rich, is the first she has written.
“The Eurovision is like the Olympics for music,” she said.
"It's unbelievable, the whole thing. This is massive. I'm trying to prepare myself like the Olympians do for Tokyo and I have no idea what is the right thing to do."
Dana, who won the contest for Ireland in 1970 with All Kinds of Everything, was quickly on the phone after Scullion’s triumph to offer her expertise.
“She said very well done and I can call her anytime,” said Scullion.
“I’ll be needing her advice. She said I had great potential to have a really good career ahead of me.”
Scullion said that while she will draw inspiration from Dana, hers were “massive shoes to step into”.
“All I can do is my best. I definitely think that I have a really good opportunity here. It’s a really good song and I think it will do well internationally.”
Jamie-Lee O’Donnell, who plays Michelle in the series Derry Girls, was also in touch to offer her congratulations. “She is a fellow Derry girl like myself, and she said ‘Do Derry Proud’.”
‘Massive for Bellaghy’
Scullion, who works in administration for an estate agent in Toomebridge, appeared in an episode of the Channel 4 comedy series, where Catholic and Protestant teens come together for a cross-community retreat. “I had one line – ‘Protestants love cleaning’. I’m very proud of that line.”
The second youngest in a family of four siblings – two older sisters and a younger brother – Scullion was a finalist on The Voice UK in 2020.
After she was chosen to represent Ireland on Friday by public votes, as well as an international and live studio jury, she was invited to Dublin’s Panti Bar to perform on Saturday night, where she brought the house down.
“It was a big hit. It was unbelievable, everyone knew the words,” she said.
But for now she is looking forward most “to getting home and seeing the buzz around the town. It’s massive for Bellaghy”.
“I just have to focus now on trying to get the right team behind me, not take anything for granted, get the staging right, get the performance right, get the aesthetic right – everything has to be right,” she said.
“I want to put my heart and soul into this, because it is a massive opportunity and I know I’ll never get the same opportunity again.”