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Sacred Heart Grammar school pupil Sophie Lennon will represent Ireland at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Armenia in December.
Speaking after the Irish final Sophie who hails from Mayobridge said "It's such a dream come true. It is such an honour and privilege to represent my country and I'm so delighted that I'm getting to Armenia. I hope I'll do Ireland proud. It's an amazing opportunity, it's all still sinking in and I'm delighted."
The fact that all three finalists Sophie, Clare Keeley (Gilford) and Niamh Noade (Lislea) were all pupils of Flynn Performing Arts in Newry added another dynamic but the three competitors really were all winners! "It was pretty unbelievable. It was kind of sad. We all know each other quite well and we were competing against each other but we are all winners really." added Sophie.
Sophie beat off 4,000 hopefuls, to win the Final last night with two ‘faultless’ performances of Tom Walker’s ‘Leave the Light On’ and Linda’s Martin’s Eurovision hit ‘Why Me’.
The other finalists Clare and Niamh were praised for their powerful and enchanting performances by Judges Niamh Ní Chróinín, Chris Greene and guest judge Brian Kennedy during the TG4 Final (Sunday 23rd October).
Director of Flynn Performing Arts Fiona Flynn congratulated all three “Throughout heats and televised shows, Clare, Niamh and Sophie have been amazing. Huge congratulations to Sophie on such a fantastic win. Both Clare and Niamh gave amazing performances and should feel so proud of their achievements. I am immensely proud that a student of Flynn Performing Arts will represent Ireland on the world stage. All three of these young performers have a very bright future ahead of them,” Fiona added.
Sophie will be the ‘voice of Ireland’ at this year’s Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Yeveran, Armenia, on 11th December.
Thirteen year old Sophie is no stranger to competition, coming 3rd in last year’s Junior Eurovision Competition Final.
Sophie said: “I've had the most amazing experience with the Junior Eurovision it is so much fun and I have made lots of new friends too. I feel so proud to represent Ireland in the Junior Eurovision – it’s really a dream come true.”
This year, Sophie was also named BBC School Soloist 2022 and was a semi-finalist on Britain’s Got Talent. Sophie was chosen as the star of new West End musical ‘Marnie and the Kaleidoscope’ which takes to the stage 2023 and earlier this year appeared in an ITV Children’s series ‘Ted’s Top Ten’.
Now in its 20th year, Junior Eurovision is a huge opportunity for the young hopefuls to showcase their unique singing and musical talents on a global stage.
Fiona Flynn concludes: “Junior Eurovision will give Sophie such a huge platform. To date over 40 countries have competed in two decades, but there’s never been an Irish winner. Maybe this is our year!"
