by Louise Doyle
THERE was huge excitement in Raphoe Central National School on Friday when classmates of Jessica McKean gathered to wish her luck ahead of her travels to France to proudly represent Ireland in Junior Eurovision 2023.
The Lifford school girl flew to Nice from Dublin Airport on Sunday morning last to compete in the major song contest.
Impressively, the talented 10-year-old is the youngest Irish representative to date.
Jessica’s mum, Sarah, told the Donegal News ahead of their departure that there was “huge excitement” in the household. She thanked everyone for all of their support along the way.
Maggie’s Tavern in St Johnston previously hosted a watch party, where many members of the community gathered to support the youngster in her bid to represent her country in the major song Song Contest.
Jessica left Dublin Airport on Sunday bound for Nice to begin a week-long schedule of rehearsals and international press interviews ahead of her much anticipated performance at Junior Eurovision on Sunday.
Jessica will be singing a song called ‘Aisling’ written by Niall Mooney and his team. The beautiful song, which aptly means ‘dream’ or ‘vision’, was released by TG4 ahead of her performance this weekend.
Despite her young years, Jessica is not daunted by taking to the stage in France. No stranger to winning competitions, Jessica won her first Feis c at just three years of age and is really excited to make her country proud in Nice.
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be broadcast live on TG4 from Palais Nikaïa tomorrow at 3pm.
Having wowed the judges with her rendition of ‘Always’ by Gavin James and ‘Hold Me Now’ by Johnny Logan last month to secure her place in the final, Jessica had described the win to the Donegal News as “life-changing”.
“This is the best thing that has ever happened to me,” she previously told this newspaper.
Jessica has been cheered on all the way by her parents, Sarah and Wesley, sister Louisa (9) and her six-year-old brother Archie.
The Opening Ceremony took place on Monday which gave viewers an exciting insight of what can be expected.
This year marks a special year of Junior Eurovision, as it is the 21st anniversary of the first show and sees 16 countries compete.
With over 33 million viewers across Europe, the show is something spectacular to be a part of.
Last year, Sophie Lennon came 4th at the contest in Yerevan, with her song ‘Solas’.
This was the best result for Ireland in the junior or senior competition in 25 years.
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