DUBLIN TWINS JOHN AND EDWARD Grimes, aka Jedward, have been selected to represent Ireland at the 56th Eurovision in Düsseldorf, Germany, in May.

Their song, Lipstick, was chosen from among five finalists on last night’s Late Late Show through a combination of regional jury selection and public votes.

Texts from the public were treated as one-third of the overall vote for any particular song.

Several countries have yet to select their entrant for this year’s competition.

The twins were favourites going into last night’s competition. They were described by the panel on the Late Late as being ideally suited for the Eurovision given their energy and X Factor experience, although panellist Mairead Farrell was concerned that they may not be as good at singing as the contestants they’ll face in Germany.

For the first time, the Irish entrant was selected after using a mentor system involving professionals from the music industry choosing bands and songs to put forward for the jury and public vote.

Jedward’s mentor for the Eurosong competition Caroline Downey said she found Jedward “so vibrant and amazing” and believes Europe is going for a much younger act at the moment. She said she believes they could go on to win the Eurovision.

Tweeting after their success last night, Jedward thanked their fans for “making us reach the top and living the dream”.

Here, Ryan Tubridy interviews Downey before Jedward perform Lipstick, Ireland’s Eurovision entry for 2010: