Rosanna Davison

Beauty pageant titleholder
Rosanna Davison in 2008
Born	Rosanna Diane Davison (1984-04-17) 17 April 1984 (age 28) County Dublin, Ireland
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Hair color	Blonde
Eye color	Brown
Title(s)	Miss Ireland 2003 (Winner) Miss World 2003 (Winner) Miss World Europe 2003

Rosanna Diane Davison (born 17 April 1984 in County Dublin, Ireland^[1]) was the winner of the Miss World 2003 title.^[2] She is the daughter of musician Chris de Burgh. The song "For Rosanna" was written by her father in her honour for his 1986 album, Into The Light.

Education[link]

Her primary education was at Aravon School, in County Wicklow.^{[citation needed]}

Rosanna attended Rathdown School, a private, all-girls school located in Glenageary, County Dublin. She was class prefect before graduating and completing her leaving certificate examinations in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, she graduated from University College Dublin with an arts degree in Sociology and Art History.^{[citation needed]}

She has recently enrolled on a part-time course in Dublin with a view to becoming a qualified nutritional therapist.^[3]

Miss World[link]

In August 2003, she entered the Miss Ireland finals in Dublin, and winning the competition, found herself competing for the title of Miss World. December 2003 saw Davison, along with 106 other contestants, compete in the Miss World competition in Sanya, China. Rosanna went on to win the crown and is the first Irish entrant ever to win the Miss World title since it started in 1951. During Davison reign, She traveled to the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, China, Sri Lanka, Germany, Poland and her very own Ireland.^{[citation needed]}

Modelling/film career[link]

Davison is currently the face of ‘Holiday On Ice’, and has also been involved in two campaigns for Newbridge Silverware and Rally England.^{[citation needed]}

She is signed to Storm Model Management in the UK, and Assets in Dublin.^{[citation needed]}

In the summer of 2009, Davison starred alongside Irish actor Richard Wall in Vena,^{[citation needed]} in which she played his girlfriend. The movie was directed by photographer and director Kevin Abosch.^{[citation needed]}

In February 2012, she came second in a poll to find Ireland's most desirable Valentines.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Rosanna's Official Website

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Lynda Duffy	Miss Ireland 2003	Succeeded by Natasha Nic Gairbheith
Preceded by none	Miss World Beach Beauty 2003	Succeeded by Nancy Randall
Preceded by Azra Akın	Miss World Europe 2003	Succeeded by Katarzyna Borowicz

Chris de Burgh
Background information
Birth name	Christopher John Davison
Born	(1948-10-15) 15 October 1948 (age 63) Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe Province, Argentina
Origin	County Wexford, Ireland
Genres	Rock
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1974–present
Labels	A&M Records, Ferryman Productions, Edel Records
Website	cdeb.com

Chris de Burgh (born Christopher John Davison, 15 October 1948) is an Argentinian born British-Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red", which reached number-one in Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Norway, and the United Kingdom.

Early life[link]

De Burgh was born in Venado Tuerto, Argentina, to Colonel Charles Davison, a British diplomat, and Maeve Emily de Burgh, an Irish secretary.^[1] His father had substantial farming interests, and he spent much of his early years in Malta, Nigeria and Zaire, as he, his mother and brother accompanied Colonel Davison on his diplomatic and engineering work.

The Davisons finally settled in Bargy Castle, County Wexford, a twelfth-century castle in Ireland bought by his maternal grandfather, General Sir Eric de Burgh, a former Chief of the General Staff in India and from a distinguished Hiberno-Norman family. The castle was converted into a hotel where Chris gained much early experience performing to the guests and he later assumed de Burgh as his stage name.^[1]

After attending Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England, de Burgh went on to graduate from Trinity College, Dublin with a Master of Arts degree in French, English and History.

Musical career[link]

Chris de Burgh signed his first contract with A&M Records in 1974, and supported Supertramp on their Crime of the Century tour, building himself a small fan base. His début album, Far Beyond These Castle Walls, was a folk-tinged stab at fantasy in the tradition of the Moody Blues that failed to chart upon its release in February 1975. Five months later, he released a single called "Turning Round" from the album, released outside the UK and Ireland as "Flying". It failed to make an impression in the UK, but it stayed on top of the Brazilian charts for 17 weeks. This became a familiar pattern for the singer/songwriter, as every one of his '70s albums failed to chart in the UK or US while they racked up big sales in European and South American countries. In 1981, he had his first UK chart entry with Best Moves, a collection culled from his early albums. It set the stage for 1982's Rupert Hine produced The Getaway, which reached number 30 in the UK charts and number 43 in the US, thanks to the eerie single "Don't Pay the Ferryman". Chris de Burgh's follow-up album, Man on the Line, also performed well, charting at 69 in the US and 11 in the UK.

Chris de Burgh had an across-the-board success with the ballad "The Lady in Red" in late 1986; the single became a number one hit in the UK (number three in America) and its accompanying album, Into the Light, reached number two in the UK. (number 25 in the U.S.). That Christmas season, a re-release of de Burgh's 1976 Christmas song "A Spaceman Came Travelling" became a Top 40 hit in the UK. Flying Colours, his follow-up to Into the Light, entered the British charts at number one upon its 1988 release, yet it failed to make the American charts. De Burgh never hit the US charts again and his commercial fortunes began to slide slightly in Britain in the early 1990s, yet he retained a following around the world. This is mainly due to inactivity of his previous recording label A&M Records UK division in U.S.^[2]

In 2007, a concert in Tehran was planned for mid-2008, together with local band Arian, which would have made Chris de Burgh the first western pop singer to perform in Iran since the 1979 revolution. However the concert never went ahead because he had not been given permission by the Iranian authorities to perform in the country.^[3]

Band line-up[link]

• 1977–1978 – Jeff Philips, Glenn Morrow, Ken Allardyce, Colin Vallance (joined in 1978)
• 1979–1982 – Tim Wynveen, Jeff Philips, Glenn Morrow, Al Marnie, Ian Kojima
• 1983–1994 – Danny McBride (not to be confused with Daniel "Dirty Dan" Hatton McBride), Jeff Philips, Glenn Morrow, Al Marnie, Ian Kojima
• 1997–2001 ("Love Songs" and "Quiet Revolution" Tour) – Neil Taylor, Peter Oxendale, Tony Kiley, Dave Levy, Al Vosper
• 2002–2004 ("Timing Is Everything" Tour) – Gary Sanctuary, Tim Cansfield, Dave Levy, Tony Kiley, Al Vosper
• 2006–present ("The Storyman" Tour) – Ebbe Ravn, Al Vosper, Dave Levy, Tony Kiley, Nigel Hopkins

Personal life[link]

Chris de Burgh has been married to his wife Diane since 1977 and lives in Enniskerry, County Wicklow in Ireland.^[1] They have two sons, Hubie and Michael, and a daughter, Rosanna, who won the Miss World competition in 2003 for Ireland.^[1] He is a distant relative of the 13th-century English nobleman Hubert de Burgh, who features prominently in William Shakespeare's play The Life and Death of King John.^[4] He is an avid Liverpool F.C. supporter as is Rosanna, and they often attend matches at Anfield.

In 1994, he was found to have had an affair with his children's 19-year-old Irish nanny, Maresa Morgan, who was assisting the family while de Burgh's wife Diane was recuperating in the hospital from a broken neck during a horse-riding accident. His daughter Rosanna, a model, indicated during an interview with The Irish Independent that she held little sympathy for Morgan, regarding the latter's portrayal of herself as a victim as "pathetic" and hoped "she pays for her mistake". She forgave her father for his affair.^[5]

De Burgh has pursued and won 16 defamation actions.^[6] The Irish Independent said he has always been a bit prickly about criticism. Peter Crawley, a theatre reviewer at The Irish Times, found this out the hard way when he wrote a less than sympathetic review of de Burgh's show in Dublin's Gaiety Theatre in September 2009. Crawley noted: "He departs the stage for 'Lady in Red', invading boxes and draping himself over audience members ... Certain toes will never uncurl after this experience, but it is almost admirable how unaltered de Burgh has remained by the flow of time." In a lengthy, much-publicised reply to the critic, de Burgh made his feelings known, particularly in the postscript:-

"We were wondering by way of explanation and, as you seem to portray yourself as a bitter and unfulfilled man, were you much teased by your school chums in the schoolyard and called 'Creepy Crawley'?" De Burgh wrote.^[7]

Discography[link]

Albums and compilations[link]

Chris de Burgh was signed to A&M Records for many years (1974–2004), but he now has his own label, Ferryman Productions. His recent albums are released by German label, Edel Records.

Filmography[link]

• How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate (Petrol Pumper)

References[link]

External links[link]

• CdeB.com, official Web site
• CdeB.net, official record store and merchandise site
• Chrisdeburgh.net, Multi-Language Chris de Burgh Website
• Audio interview at BBC Wiltshire
• Chris de Burgh on Facebook
• Interview with Akira The Don

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2008)

Dustin the Turkey
Background information
Born	13 November 1989
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Occupations	Singer, TV presenter
Years active	1989–present
Labels	FOWL Music Entertainment LLC

Dustin the Turkey is an Irish puppet, "television presenter" and star of RTÉ television's The Den since 1989.^[1] A turkey with a strong Dublin accent, Dustin is voiced by John Morrison, brother of Ciaran Morrison who was one of the creators of Zig and Zag.^[2] Dustin first appeared on The Den with Zig and Zag in 1990, but remained with the show after their 1994 departure to Channel 4.^[2] He also outlasted four human co-hosts, all of whom moved to radio, Ian Dempsey, Ray D'Arcy, Damien McCaul and Francis Boylan Jr. Dustin's achievements include a musical career with chart-topping singles. Dustin won the public vote to represent Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song "Irelande Douze Pointe" but failed to progress past the first semi-final stage.^[3] In 2008 he made an appearance on the ITV show The Xtra Factor.^[4]

Music[link]

He released his Greatest Hits album in 2001. On 4 November 2005, he released his first new single for 4 years, "Patricia the Stripper", a duet with Chris de Burgh aka Christy Burger. On 11 November 2005, he then released a new album, also his first for 4 years, called Bling When You're Minging.

These albums have featured backing vocals from many Irish stars including Bob Geldof, Boyzone and the late Joe Dolan. Many of his songs are parodies of either folk songs or well known chart hits from across the decades. He made the news in Britain in December 1996 when he was number one in Ireland with his songs "Christmas Tree" and "Rat Trap" (a cover version of The Boomtown Rats song which he sang with Bob Geldof, and made fun of him throughout), when in just about every other country the Christmas number one spot went to the Spice Girls with their song "2 Become 1".

Singles[link]

• (1990) "The Christmas No. 1" (Zig and Zag feat. Dustin the Turkey) (IE #1)
• (1993) "Numb"
• (1994) "Spanish Lady" (feat. Ronnie Drew and The Saw Doctors) (IE #1)
• (1996) "Rat Trap" (with Bob Geldof) (IE #1)
• (1996) "Christmas Tree"

	"Christmas Tree" noicon
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• (1997) "Mary" feat Mary Robinson
• (1997) "Good Lookin' Woman" (with Joe Dolan) (IE #1)
• (1997) "Fairytale of New York" (with Dervla Kirwan)
• (1999) "32 Counties" (IE #1)

	"32 Counties" noicon
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• "Christmas in Dublin"
• (2001) "Sweet Caroline" (IE #1)
• (2005) "Patricia the Stripper" (with Chris de Burgh) (IE #3)
• "True Christmas"
• "Fields of Athenry"
• "Harrell is a Lonely Dustin"
• (2008) "Irelande Douze Pointe" (IE #5)

	"Irelande Douze Pointe" noicon
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Albums[link]

• Not Just A Pretty Face
• Unplucked
• Faith Of Our Feathers
• Poultry In Motion
• Dustin's Greatest Hits
• Bling When You're Minging

Eurosong and Eurovision 2008[link]

Dustin the Turkey in the first semi-final of Eurovision Song Contest 2008

Originally the favourite to win, Dustin was chosen by the Irish viewers at Eurosong to represent Ireland in the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest, becoming the first puppet to do so.^[5] Though it was not announced on the Eurosong show how many votes Dustin won, an RTÉ radio show later revealed that the second place had an average of 15 points, while Dustin had 23, so the public really did want to send a puppet to Eurovision. Despite it being a public vote, there was a mixed reaction from the live studio audience when the result was announced, including many audible boos. A panellist on the programme, former Eurovision winner Dana, stated that Ireland would be better withdrawing from the competition than sending Dustin. Despite her lack of support, past Irish Eurovision entries Dickie Rock and Maxi stated their beliefs that Dustin could win.

Dustin performed his song in the first semi-final on 20 May and "brought down the house". The song contained, amongst other things, references to Riverdance ("Give us another chance, we're sorry for Riverdance!") and Michael Flatley ( "Sure Flatley he's a yank" ).^[6] Dustin failed to progress beyond the Eurovision semi-final.^[7]

Political career[link]

Dustin has often declared his interest in politics. He has campaigned in two presidential elections. He competed as Dustin Hoffman in the 1997 presidential election as both forename and surname were necessary to register. Returning Officers received votes spoiled with his name in more recent elections. He received some support but many of those ballots were also spoiled. In his mock campaigns, he ran as a representative of "Fianna Fowl" (a play on Ireland's former largest political party Fianna Fáil)^[8] and also of the 'Poultry Party'. His campaign manifestos have included promising "to bring the DART to Dingle", as well as making sure every young boy in Ireland got to go on a date with the Spice Girl of their choice (later Pussycat Doll) and Industrializing all of Ireland's rural areas, while Ruralizing everywhere else.

He is a UNICEF ambassador.^[9]

Personal life[link]

Dustin is a fan of the Dublin GAA team and Manchester United. Dustin's favourite band is Republic of Loose.^[10]

Dustin has been an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since late 2009 and visited the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, where he found out at firsthand the impact of HIV/AIDS on communities and children and ways that UNICEF is working to help very young children cope.^[11]

Movies and documentaries[link]

Dustin made a film titled 'Dustin in Fowl Play' in 2002. In this film, he and his friend, Snotser, put together a boyband called Mankind.

Dustin was also the subject of the documentary Dustin: 20 Years a Pluckin'.

References[link]

External links[link]

• RTÉ Entertainment: Dustin is among Eurosong finalists
• Eurovision.tv: Dustin the Turkey in Irish national final?

Raymond 'Ray' Foley (Irish: Rae hÓ Bhollach; born 21 September 1980) is an Irish radio presenter. He currently presents The Ray Foley Show on Today FM at weekday lunch times. Having worked at 98FM and Spin 1038 early in his career, Foley moved to Today FM in 2004, presenting the night time show The Blast with, "JP" Gilbourne. In 2006, he moved to midday and now presents The Ray Foley Show, with sidekick JP Nugent and Adelle McDonnell.^[1] He hosts a fashion show on Thursday nights and a Singles Night on Valentine's day.^[2][3] He now hosts Take Me Out on TV3.

Early career[link]

Following an entry in the DJ For a Day competition on 2FM (on Tony Fenton's Hotline show) in 1997, Foley got a taste for broadcasting. This led to him beginning his studies as a journalist in Dublin Institute of Technology, from which he graduated in October 2004^[4] While there he started working at East Coast FM, and thence moved to 98FM and as a newsreader on Lite FM, before moving to Spin 1038, "to get re-acquainted with presenting again".^[5] While there, he presented The Zoo Crew with Clionadh O'Leary week nights.

Today FM career[link]

In 2004, at the age of 23, Foley moved to Today FM and began presenting late night show, The Blast, from 22:00 to 00:00, Monday to Thursday, with his college friend, JP Gilbourne, from Dundalk. Foley and JP regularly filled-in for Ray D'Arcy, Tony Fenton and Tom Dunne during this time. When the radio schedule was changed in 2006, Foley moved to his current time-slot, which was vacated by Tony Fenton who had to make do with a later time-slot. He was disciplined by Irish authorities when he broadcast the Lily Allen song "Fuck You Very Much" on lunchtime radio in 2008.^[6]

Current show[link]

Foley currently broadcasts under the 12:00 to 14:30 time slot on Today FM, directly after The Ray D'Arcy Show and followed by Tony Fenton. The tagline for the show is "Just a bit of fun for your lunchtime, nothing too serious". The show consists of taking calls from listeners on random topics, chart music, and some regular spots, along with the Daily Lunchtime News from 12:45 to 13:00. Sometimes contributors include Ann Gleeson, Alan Metcalfe (Funky Phone Boy Al) and reviewer Eoghan Doherty (Nordy Eoghan).

Roll Call[link]

At the start of every show, Ray reads a "roll-call", in which listeners text or e-mail in with excuses as to why they will not be able to listen to the show that day.

Newsbusters[link]

Every day just before the 14:00 news break, a "funny" news story is read, and the listeners are asked to text in the names of songs which could best portray the story. The "winning" song is played after the news.

Lazy Radio[link]

On Fridays, the show generally started with Lazy Radio, in which TV theme tunes, usually for children's programmes from the 1980s and 1990s were played. Ray, JP and Adelle constantly "complain" throughout that it's a sign of a lazy radio DJ to play these. This is a reference to other radio shows which would occasionally play theme tunes, making them out to be lazy. This feature became so popular that the Lazy Radio Show Tour began in 2009, with Ray, JP and Adelle playing Lazy Radio tunes in nightclubs shows around the country. Lazy Radio no longer occurs as it was felt it was time to become more mature.

Feedback with JP[link]

Every Friday, just after the 13:00 news, This slot has JP reading "fake" e-mails from listeners, who have discovered mistakes made on Today FM during the week. It normally includes a replay of something a DJ or newsreader has said, but amended or edited in some way to make it funny.

Foley's Friday Face-off[link]

Each Friday, a caller is given the opportunity to challenge Foley in a 5 question general knowledge quiz. Adelle is the quizmistress, and Foley must write his answers down. These are then taken by JP, and the caller is asked to answer the questions one at a time, with Foley's answer been given by JP. Even if Foley wins, the caller is usually given the prizes anyway.

So much we didn't get to do today ...[link]

At the end of each show, Ray calls out some items that were not able to be covered on the show that day, due to insufficient time. These generally involve puns and plays on the names of well-known people such as Silly Aul Willy, Angry Aul Wasp, Friendly AUl Bum.

Essential Rock Anthems[link]

In 2009, Foley and JP presented The Essential Rock Anthems in "The Essential..." slot on Sunday Nights 19:00 - 20:00. This was so popular, that they presented two further shows, which then became a regular almost monthly feature of the slot. In November 2009, Ray Foley and JP's Essential Rock Anthems CD was launched, a two-CD collection, including tracks from artists such as Meat Loaf, Therapy?, Pixies, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, Motörhead, Placebo, Blondie, Radiohead, The Knack, Status Quo, The Jam and Journey.

TV3 career[link]

Foley eventually broke into television.^[7][8] He became the Irish Cilla Black by presenting Take Me Out. Sean Munsanje from Xposé took him shopping to style him for the job.^[9] He was also mentioned in relation to The Apprentice.^[10]

Awards[link]

Foley won a Meteor Music Award for Best National DJ in 2008, 2009 and again in 2010.^[11] Foley celebrated winning the 2008 award by singing a version of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", and in 2009 with the theme tune to TV's Home and Away^[12] as part of his acceptance speech. In 2008 he launched a successful daily campaign to dethrone namesake Ray D'Arcy.^[13]

Foley achieved the prestigious PPI Radio Awards Music Broadcaster of the Year Award in 2009 and 2010.^[14][15] Also in 2009 Foley and JP won the award for Best Specialist Music Programme for their Sunday evening show, The Essential Rock Anthems with Ray & JP.^[14]

Personal life[link]

Foley married his girlfriend, RTÉ 2fm newsreader, Kate Carolan in 2007. They met while they both worked on Spin 1038.^[5] He proposed to Kate on O'Connell Street in Dublin City Centre and spent their honeymoon attending the Oxegen Music Festival. Foley and his woman are often seen together in public.^[16] Foley has spoken on air of his beloved family goldfish called Zoey, who lived for 15 years despite a near death experience on a carpet.^[17] On Monday 2nd April 2012, Ray announced on-air that Kate had given birth to their first child, a boy, Matthew, on April 1st 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ray Foley's Bog