Dawn Martin (born 1976 in

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

singer who represented

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in the

1998 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster ...

Career and Eurovision

Dawn Martin left school at the age of 14 and began working as a hairdresser. Being the eldest of eight children, she helped her parents to raise the family. In 1996 Martin had been asked to sing at a friend's wedding and was persuaded by the band to enter a local talent contest. Although working full-time as a hairdresser, Martin continued singing and became a member of a local cabaret band called Us, who performed at weddings and local pubs. In 1997 Martin appeared on '' The George Jones Show'' on

BBC Radio Ulster BBC Radio Ulster ( ga, BBC Raidió Uladh) is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is ...

and was heard by Gerry Morgan, who invited Martin to perform his song " Is Always Over Now?". After winning the Irish National heats, she won the right to represent Ireland with "Is Always Over Now?". However this result gained some controversy from

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s and 2000s. He later bec ...

, whose act The Carter Twins were beaten, when he labelled the singer "an amateur". The Carter Twins song had been composed by

Ronan Keating Ronan Patrick John Keating (born 3 March 1977) is an Irish singer. He debuted in 1993 alongside Keith Duffy, Michael Graham, Shane Lynch, and Stephen Gately, as the co-lead singer (with Gately) of Irish pop group Boyzone. His solo career start ...

and was favourite to win. There was further minor controversy when her two backing singers were axed by

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

before the final. These were friends of Martin's, but RTÉ decided that they needed more experienced singers, former winner Paul Harrington being chosen as one of them. In the lead up to the contest, Martin was ranked as 10 to 1 by

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, but had been more favourably viewed by journalists, who predicted that singing in English would be an advantage with this being the first year that the contest was to include televotes. On the night of the Contest, Martin performed 13th and received 64 points, finishing in ninth place. The single reached No.24 in the Irish singles chart. In 2011 Dawn appeared at Eurobash at Panti Bar in Dublin singing "Is Always Over Now?".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Dawn 1976 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1998 Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Ireland Irish pop singers Musicians from County Louth 21st-century Irish singers