Labour jokes, inter-host slagging matches and Kathryn Thomas' dance moves were all the rage on The Voice of Ireland this evening. Kelly Mongan, Shannon Murphy, Keith Hanley and Shane McLaughlin battled it out to follow in the footsteps of Pat Byrne and win a recording contract with Universal Ireland, without giving birth in the process. It was Keith Hanley who eventually emerged victorious, with the Irish public naming him The Voice Of Ireland 2013.

It was a busy night in The Helix, as all four contestants took to the stage to belt out Carly Rae Jepsen and Owl City's Good Time, before hooking up with some familiar faces for a series of duets. Shannon was first up to bat with Paul Walsh of Royseven, while a ridiculously heavily pregnant Kelly Mongan almost sang duet partner Una Healy off the stage.


Shane McLaughlin joined Steve Wall of old school Irish rockers The Stunning on stage next, with a surprise guest appearance from Kathryn herself. Note to TV presenters - some bits, like timing, are crucial. We were scarleh for Kathryn's granny for havin her ma, but still, she's some mover, wha? Finally Keith Hanley and Ryan Sheridan teamed up, sans host/backing dancer sadly, to lash out Sheridan's smash hit Jigsaw on behalf of Team Jamelia.

With voting lines open, it was time to go it alone, and sing for glory with their favourite tracks from the series, which they eventually hoped to release as their winner's single. Shannon Murphy sang her heart out with The Lumineers' Ho Hey, while Kelly Mongan brought the house down with Elton John's Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word. Her coach Kian Egan left the box of donuts at home, and even found time to praise Bressie's girl for her efforts.

Shane McLaughlin took on The Frames' Fake (sans backing dancer Kathryn), and finally managed to elicit some praise from Jamelia. The man from Donegal even charmed Sharon Corr with his performance. Finally, Charleville boy Keith Hanley returned to the stage without his delightful dungarees to go for glory with The Saturdays' remix of Four Tops classic Beggin'.

Just when we thought we'd seen the best the show had to offer, an impromptu Eoghan 'Patrick Swayze' McDermott moment resulted in Kathryn shaking her tailfeather for a second time. If they ever want to reboot Celebrity Jigs and Reels we have a feeling the Carlow woman will be the first to know about it.

The moment of truth finally arrived just after 8.15pm, and as silence fell in The Helix, the results were called out. What we thought would be the biggest shock of the night came as Shannon Murphy only managed to finish fourth, despite being hyped as the one to watch. Underdog Shane McLaughlin took third place, leaving Kelly and Keith to battle it out for Voice of Ireland glory.


It was Keith who clinched the surprise victory in the end, bringing the house down and setting Twitter alight in the process. We'll give it to the voting public: Be it in a General Election or a TV talent show, they certainly know how to court controversy. So there you have it, another year, another Voice of Ireland in the bag. Until this time next year, we're over and out!

And if you enjoyed tonight's solo performances, you can download all the tracks on iTunes right now via the links below:

For Keith Hanley's Beggin' click here.
For Kelly Mongan's Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word click here.
For Shane McLaughlin's Fake click here.
For Shannon Murphy's Ho Hey click here.