Georgina O'Halloran talks to the man who will strum for Ireland at the air guitar world championships in Finland tomorrow.

"Everybody plays the air guitar, don't they? I mean everybody who is into rock music, and is serious about it, should be able to play air guitar." These are the words of Thomas Murray, alias "Smell Gibson", Ireland's first national air guitar champion.

Gibson (21), from Rathfarnham, is an avid rock music fan. He will represent Ireland at the Air Guitar World Championships on Friday in the northern Finnish town of Oulu.

He faces tough competition from the 16 other air guitarists representing 10 countries, including the reigning world champion, "C Diddy" from New York.

Despite stiff competition, Gibson remains confident of his chances. Indeed, so confident is he of his talent, he has declined the opportunity of participating in the two-day high-altitude training camp prior to the final. "I am not going to the training camp because I don't need to. Anyhow, I have my own sort of training programme. It's sort of, listen to some loud rock and roll for a few hours, drink a bottle of buckie at the weekend and roll around in the mud."

The Air Guitar World Championships have been running since 1996, but this is the first time Ireland is sending a representative. The competition consists of two one-minute rounds where competitors first play a song of their own choice, and then another selected by the organisers.

Gibson is performing The Thrashing of the Christ, a medley of music by Panthera and Queens of the Stone Age, with a little bit of Gibson creativity thrown in for good measure. The independent jury will rate candidates according to criteria which include originality, stage charisma, technique, and artistic impression. The guitarists' abilities to be taken over by the music and their possession of that most elusive of qualities, "big air", is also rated.

Big air? "It's running and jumping," says Gibson, who remains unfazed by this, declaring that big hair is also an asset in this category. "I have the big hair and I can get the big air," he declares proudly.

Gibson inadvertently stumbled upon stardom when a Friday night of partying melted into Saturday afternoon at the first air guitar competition, in Eamon Doran's of Temple Bar in Dublin. "Next thing I knew I was up on stage and now I'm the national air guitar champion," he says.

Despite the modesty, you would be wrong to presume that Gibson is an air guitar virgin. In reality he has been indulging his passion for rock since he was around eight.

"Probably the first time I ever played air guitar was listening to my sister's Guns 'n' Roses album," he says.

The Irish Air Guitar Championship is the brainchild of Cathy Irvine (26) and Conor Murtagh (29) who witnessed the Dutch finals in Amsterdam in July 2003 and thought it would be a great idea to organise something similar here.

"It was a lot of work but worth it," says Murtagh. "It's something that everyone does at parties, gigs or in the privacy of their own bedroom. This is a chance to get up on stage and do it in front of people. It gives people who don't play an instrument the opportunity to be a rock star," he says.

Irvine says the venture has been such a success that they intend doing it again next year, perhaps with heats in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Belfast.

Meanwhile, Gibson leaves for Finland, accompanied by his mother and his friend Denis, and he has every intention of doing us proud. "I am going to go over to Finland and leave my mark. They're not going to know what hit them."

Another air guitar competition is being held on September 26th in Meeting House Square, Temple Bar, as part of the Bulmers Comedy Festival. Auditions will be held prior to the event. For further information see: www.airguitarireland.com