Following the huge success of the competition earlier this year Midwest Radio and Mayo county council have announced details of the 2009 S Factor road safety song contest - with entries closing on Monday November 17th next at 5.00 p.m..

The competition attracted more than 200 entries last season and it’s expected that a similar number of amateur song-writers will be involved in the competition again this year.  The aim of the contest is to find a road safety anthem for the region and with a prize fund of almost €3000 on offer interest is expected to be at an all-time high amongst the general public.

Each entry must be forwarded to Mayo county councils road safety officer Noel Gibbons and the official entry form is now available through Mr. Gibbons’ offices in Castlebar or from the studios of Midwest Radio.  A panel of judges will evaluate each entry and eight songs will be short-listed for the grand final in February 2009.

Speaking at the launch of this year’s competition Noel Gibbons said that the standard of the entries last year was phenomenal and that he was eagerly looking forward to receiving more imaginative songs this year.

“We were really bowled over by the numbers and standards of the entries and judging by the number of enquiries we’ve been getting over the past few months I expect an even higher number of entries this year.  It’s a very unique initiative and the fact that we’ve teamed up with Midwest Radio gives songwriters the perfect medium to expose their talents to a wider audience as well as giving us the platform to promote road safety through music”.

The winners of the inaugural contest – held in the Ramada hotel, Ballina last February – were writing duo Declan Lyons and Anthony Waldron from Ballyhaunis and their composition “Cars and Coffins” beat off some stiff opposition to scoop the top prixe on the night.

The special guest at the event was Mr. Gay Byrne, chairman of the Road Safety Authority who said that the competition was “highly original” and because of the standard of performance on the night by all the competitors the authority doubled the prize money on offer.

The head of speech programming at Midwest Radio Tommy Marren said that Midwest were delighted to be involved in the contest again in 2009 and that it clearly showed the links that can be harnessed between Mayo county council and a local radio station for the common good.

“In truth our involvement in the S Factor Song Contest is precisely the sort of thing we should be about as the local station for county Mayo.  We also attract high listenership in bordering counties and I’ve no doubt that we will get an even higher standard of entry this time around.  It certainly is an event that captured the imagination of a lot of people and has done a lot to promote the message of road safety in a very special way”.

The S Factor Song Contest final 2008 was broadcast live on Midwest Radio and the broadcast has been short-listed for a national radio award at the PPI Radio Awards in Kilkenny on Friday October 10th, 2008.

To acquire the official entry form for the S Factor Song Contest please forward a S.A.E. to Mr. Noel Gibbons, Road Safety Officer, Mayo County Council, Castlebar, Co. Mayo or Midwest Radio, Clare St. Ballyhaunis, County Mayo.  The closing date is Monday November 17th, 2008 at 5.00 pm with the final scheduled for February at a venue yet to be announced.