Eurosong 2008 finalists announced

The contest was open to songwriters from both Ireland and abroad and almost two hundred entries were received in total. In a change from the last two years of the competition, when composers were invited to write a song for an act chosen by RTE, this year entrants were asked to submit a package of song and performer.

21-year-old Donal Skehan is the first finalist, performing Joel Humlén, Oscar Gorres and Charlie Mason's song 'Double Cross My Heart'. Formerly a member of boyband Streetwize, Skehan has also studied TV presentation, production and direction and currently has a presenting role on the Bubble Hits music channel.

The Den's Dustin the Turkey is already a veteran recording artists, with six albums under his belt since he first rose to stardom in the late 1980s. He's duetted with artists such as Bob Geldof, Chris De Burgh, Ronnie Drew, Dervla Kirwan and the late Joe Dolan and his entry 'Irelande Douze Pouints' was co-written with Darren Smith and Simon Fine.

Young Slovenian singer Maya is the third finalist, performing the song 'Time To Rise' which she co-wrote with Ziga Pirnat. A University of Ljubljana music student, she has been performing and winning song competitions since an early age and was a backing singer for Slovenia’s Anzej Dezan at the Eurovision in Athens in 2006.

Dublin-born Leona Daly will perform 'Not Crazy After All', co-written with English tunesmith Steve Booker, who has also written material for Stevie Nicks, Natalie Imbruglia, Jack Savoretti and most recently Duffy. Daly has also worked in Nashville with the Oscar-nominated songwriter Sharon Vaughan.

Ballina's Liam Geddes is the youngest finalist at just 17 years of age. The highest-placed and youngest Irish entrant in the 2007 edition of the X-Factor TV show, Geddes has co-written 'Sometimes' with Armagh music teacher and songwriter Susan Hewitt, making them the only cross-border collaboration among the finalists.

Last but not least is Marc Roberts, who has composed and will perform 'Chances'. Originally from Mayo and now based in Galway, Marc represented Ireland in the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest with 'Mysterious Girl' which came second in the competition and reached number two in the Irish charts. Marc is currently working on his fourth album and regularly tours in the US and Australia.

These final six songs were chosen by a judging panel chaired by television producer Bill Hughes and included singer/songwriter Eleanor McEvoy, former Eurovision winning singer/songwriter Charlie McGettigan, showbiz agent/choreographer Julian Benson and RTÉ's Assistant Commissioning Editor for Entertainment Julian Vignoles.

Performances of the songs will be broadcast live from the University of Limerick concert hall on Saturday February 23 from 7-8pm, with Ray D'Arcy presenting. After all songs have been performed, the public will then decide which act will go on to represent Ireland at the upcoming Eurovision semi-final in Belgrade on May 20. The winner will be announced in a live results show at 9:30pm on the night.

RTÉ is inviting members of the public to join the audience, with tickets being made available on a first come first served basis from 9am on Monday February 4 from the UCHL box office.