Boom Bang-a-Bang

Bomb scare at Eurovision almost scuppered Niamh's 1993 victory

EUROVISION winner Niamh Kavanagh's historic 1993 victory almost did not happen due to a terrifying bomb scare, it has emerged.

The singer's success three decades ago was the fifth of Ireland's record seven wins at Eurovision, which the country last won in 1996.

When the 1993 Eurovision was hosted at Millstreet in Co Cork, the Irish and UK delegations had to be kept in separate hotels for security reasons.

Now 30 years later, Niamh has spoken of how Ireland's back-to-back wins in 1992 and 1993 almost did not happen because of the bomb threat.

She said: "It was all kept very hush hush at the time. They were very kind to leave us where we were. It was very strange.