Tuam star to fly the flag for his Hometown in Eurovision

Tuam will fly the flag for Ireland in the Ukraine – and family and friends are already making plans to travel in support of Brendan Murray, who will be representing the country in the Eurovision next year.

Musicians and friends are already booking their flights to Kiev following the announcement that he will be representing Ireland in the Eurovision.

Brendan is a member of the boy band Hometown who played in front of a Tuam audience at the Sugar Beat concert last year. He is currently working in River Island in Galway City as the band are on ‘a sabbatical’ at the moment.

His parents Frank and Julieanne and brothers Daithí and Justin and sister Sinead are already looking forward to the event.

“We cannot believe that Brendan is representing the country. It is a major event as far as we are concerned. We just hope that he does the country proud,” Frank Murray told The Connacht Tribune.

Music manager Louis Walsh played a pivotal role in the decision-making process. As a music business veteran, Louis will also be using his extensive contacts in the music industry to source a song.

“Brendan is perfect for Eurovision, he has a distinctive voice and a look that I think will really appeal to audiences across Europe,” said Louis.

“I want to find the best song for Brendan to perform on that Eurovision stage. I’m going to use my own contacts in the business and I want to hear songs from Irish songwriters or songwriters abroad until I find the best song. I won’t rest until I do,” he added.

Frank Murray said that he was proud of his son and he hoped that he would do what the likes of Dana and Johnny Logan did. “They laugh at the Eurovision but Johnny Logan has done very well out it,” said Frank Murray.

Brendan performed Johnny Logan’s Eurovision winning classic Hold Me Now live on The Late Late Show. He said his mam and dad had been big fans of all the Irish Eurovision winners and of Johnny Logan in particular.

“I’m honoured and excited to be representing Ireland in Kiev in the biggest music competition in the world. I’m really looking forward to it. I was born in 1996 the last time Ireland won, so I hope that will bring me luck.

“But most of all I’m really excited about finding a great song that I can take to the Eurovision stage and give it my all,” Brendan added.

Brendan has been a member of boy band Hometown since he was 17. Hometown’s first single Where I Belong became the fastest-selling single from a debut act and the fastest-selling single from an Irish artist in 2014, reaching number one in the charts in Ireland.

The band’s second single, Cry For Help, was released in March 2015 in Ireland also reached number one. Hometown have toured extensively in the UK and Ireland and have supported such acts as Olly Murs, McBusted and The Vamps.

The closing date for submissions for songs is Monday, January 16. Frank Murray said that his son still had to go through a semi-final process and expressed the home that he would come through this.