Tullamore's Tony aiming for record contract

An Offaly singer is looking forward to perhaps achieving a lifelong dream of securing a recording contract. Twenty-four year old Tony Cunningham from Tullamore is known to many as a singer with the Tullamore Gospel Choir. However a successful run in the All-Ireland Music Competition as part of duo "By Chance" has seen him catapulted into the competition's final stages, set for the first days of 2013. Tony Cunningham and "By Chance" partner Alan Donnelly from Dublin were complete strangers to each other until the All-Ireland Music Competition judging panel suggested they team up for the competition at bootcamp stage. Now they face 15 other acts for the semi-final stage of the All-Ireland Music Competition in Ennis on January 4, with hopes of progressing to the competition final in the same venue on January 5. Mercury music winner and Hot Press best female artist Gemma Hayes and Eurovision winner Paul Harrington will judge acts on January 4 and 5. The pay off for the eventual winner is big - a recording contract and represenation by competition host Talent Management International (TMI) Ireland. The All-Ireland Music Competition is sponsored by Shannon Development and the Shannon Region Conference and Sports Bureau. Hundreds of acts have participated in the process so far, with regional heats since the competition's launch last April taking place in Limerick, Dublin, Galway and Ennis. The remaining acts in the running for the big prize include By Chance, Penny Wentworth from Tipperary, Deanie from Dublin, Thomas Dormer from Clare, Aobhin Pollard from Dublin, Niamh Brady from Cork, Katelyn Molly from Galway, Shawn Mullen from Laois, Men in Slacks from Dublin, Double Fever from Meath and Tipperary, Elizabeth Cunningham from Kilkenny, Michelle Revins from Tipperary, Stephen Tallon from Wexford, Michelle O'Dwyer from Tipperary, Elaine Devoy from Canan and Kevin McCarthy from Limerick. More information on the competition and details of tickets for the semi-final and final are available at www.aimc.ie or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AllIrelandMusicCompetition.