Donna and Joseph McCaul

Donna and Joe McCaul
Born (1984-05-30) 30 May 1984 (age 40) (Donna)
1989 (Joe)
OriginAthlone, County Westmeath, Ireland
GenresEuro-pop
Years active2005–present
MembersDonna McCaul (vocals, dance),
Joseph McCaul (vocals, dance)

Donna and Joseph McCaul (born 30 May 1984 and 1989, respectively),[1][2] also known as The McCauls, are a brother and sister musical duo who represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 in Ukraine. They were not pre-qualified for the final, due to Ireland's result from the 2004 contest, which meant they took part in the semi-final on 19 May 2005.

The decision for Donna and Joe to represent Ireland was voted on by an Irish television audience and was announced on RTÉ's You're a Star on 6 March 2005. They sang "Amazing Grace" at an audition in Waterford to earn their place in the live national finals.

They were the first ever Irish act to take part in a Eurovision Song Contest semi-final. They went no further. They returned to Ireland and appeared as guests on The Podge and Rodge Show the following year.

Following their brief spell in the spotlight, they were contestants on the RTÉ reality series Fáilte Towers in 2008, and guest-presented an episode of The Podge and Rodge Show. Donna gained some further publicity when she declared she was a lesbian.[1][3][4] She appeared in an RTÉ Christmas special with Katherine Lynch in 2008 and featured in an episode of Anonymous during which Bazil Ashmawy fooled her on television. Joe presents a Saturday show on Athlone Community Radio. Joe reached bootcamp in series 9 of The X Factor.

  1. ^ a b Egan, Barry (17 August 2008). "I just want to live my life happily". Sunday Independent. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
  2. ^ "ROCK CHICK DONNA McCAUL Amanda Brunker Meets and Interviews a Different Irish or International Celebrity Each Week for the Sunday World". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-05.
  3. ^ Brunker, Amanda. "ROCK CHICK DONNA McCAUL". Sunday World. Archived from the original on 7 November 2011. Retrieved 4 November 2011.
  4. ^ "Love? singer perhaps the highest profile Irish woman to do so: Donna McCaul comes out!". ESC. Archived from the original on 6 November 2008.