Ireland is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest during the last years. Since 1992 Ireland won three times immediately after another. But in Copenhagen 2001 something very unusual happened: Ireland received so less points that it has to take a break of one year for the first time!

Luckily Ireland is part of the contest again. As well as Spain and Portugal, Ireland is using the method "Operación Trifuno" - in Ireland "You are a star" for finding the candidate for the Eurovision. Mickey Harte was the lucky one this year, who is coming from the Donegal county. He's already a proud father of two children.

Mickey describes himself as a full-time-singer, who has already written more than 100 songs. He regularly is on stage in Dublin for example with Kieran Goss and John Spillane. With only 15 years he was a member of the band Kryptic and in the year 2001 he recorded his first demo-tape. In the same year he took part at the "Tin Pan South Festival" in Nashville. Mickey's idol is Johnny Logan, and of course he is dreaming of bringing back the crown of Eurovision to Ireland.

But there also has been a reproach of plagiarism. The Song remembers too much of the Olsen Brothers "Fly on the wings of Love", which won in the year 2000 in Stockholm. The EBU checked it up and everything went well, so that "We've got the world tonight" can start for Ireland in Riga.