We’ve yet to officially find out whether Ryan Dolan will be in the race to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2015. But for now, there’s still one prize which is very much within his reach – a GALAS LGBT Award.
The award show has been running since 2009 and is designed to honour those who work towards a better future for LGBT people in Ireland. The “Only Love Survives” singer is nominated in the Absolut Entertainment Personality of the Year category. Since he publicly came out last year, Ryan has been busy raising awareness about LGBT issues, in particular homophobic bullying. His two most recent videos – “Start Again” and “Fall To The Floor” – also focus on gay themes.
However, Ryan isn’t the only Eurovision alum hoping to snag the award. The 1993 winner and 2010 finalist, Niamh Kavanagh, is also a nominee. A long-time LGBT ally, Niamh has performed at several Pride events throughout the years.
We’d love to see one of them win, but the pair face some stiff competition. Other personalities featured on the 20 name long-list include Graham Norton, Hozier, Andrew Scott (aka Sherlock‘s Moriarty), Westlife’s Mark Feehily, Colin Farrell and Brendan and Eilish O’Carroll (aka Mrs. Brown’s Boys’ Agnes and Winnie).
The good news is that the winner will be chosen by an online public vote. So click HERE if you want to vote for either Ryan or Niamh. The GALAS ceremony will take place on 6 March in Dublin. Fingers crossed we’ll get to see a Eurovision star go home victorious.
Jenny Greene, also nominated, was one of the Irish Jurors in Copenhagen.