Cork's Dan Elliot Wins Le Crunch Apple Of My Eye Song Contest 2018

Following a superb live final at Whelan’s in Dublin, Dan Elliot from Ovens, Co Cork, was crowned winner of the 2018 Le Crunch Apple of My Eye Song Contest.

The young songwriter from Cork walked away with a cheque for €1500 and a slot at this summer’s Indiependence Music & Arts Festival.

 Dan fought off strong competition on the night from fellow finalists, Sparkle, A Perfect Friction, Liam Geddes and The Rush, to be announced as winner. Judges Jess Kavanagh from BARQ, songwriter Jack O’Rourke and JOEshow presenter, Paddy McKenna, declared it “an extremely tough decision, as all five finalists went for it with some great live performances and they didn’t make it easy for us to pick a winner.”

 The five finalists were the result of weeks of deliberation following nearly 600 entries into the nationwide talent search. The super healthy apple brand Le Crunch had teamed up with online platform JOE in what has become a hugely popular annual search for Ireland’s greatest cover version.

 Previous entrants have included Brave Giant and Stephaine Rainey and have gone on to play at some of Ireland’s biggest festivals and events, while last year's winner Katie Cassidy and Brave Giant played live on the night.

 “We’d like to offer our congratulations to not only our fantastic winner, Dan Elliot, this year, but also all of the talented musicians who took the time to enter the Le Crunch Apple of My Eye Song Contest this year,” said Sandrine Gaborieau, Marketing Director of Le Crunch from France. “We look forward to seeing how Dan gets on in what we hope will be a hugely successful career.”