Turkey puppet on Irish Eurovision list

Dustin, a popular turkey puppet from Irish TV, has been named on the country's Eurovision shortlist.

The fowl, who appears on RTE, will perform the track 'Irlande Douze Points' for TV viewers later this month, who will then decide whether it should represent the nation at the annual music contest.

Bookmakers have installed Dustin as an odds-on favourite to win the nomination.

However, the song choice has angered several songwriters, who have claimed the entry 'trivialises' the contest.

Songwriter Shay Healy told The Stage: "Whatever may be wrong with Eurovision, or with recent Irish entries, this is certainly not the solution."

Phil Coultier, who wrote the Eurovision hits 'Congratulations' and 'Puppet On A String', said: "You have to stand by quality.

"If you start chasing every fad, you will trivialise the whole thing and end up in a situation where the hairdresser is more important than the songwriter."

Composer Frank McNamara added: "I’m not sure whether the selection committee is giving a two-fingered salute to the country’s songwriters, the Irish public, or the song contest.

"It may be a desperate bid to conjure up some sort of gimmick, but it’s beyond a joke, as far as I’m concerned."