THERE was a surprising air of calm backstage at the National Concert Hall as the five finalists of the Veronica Dunne Singing Competition awaited the jury's verdict.
Simon O'Neill, a tenor from New Zealand seemed to speak for them all as he said: "It seemed more like a concert than a competition. It was really very enjoyable."
The night was certainly enjoyable for Norah Amsellem the French soprano, who was presented by the President, Mrs Robinson, with the first prize of £10,000 and a bronze trophy from ESB the sponsors of the competition.
Ms Amsellem, whose ancestors can be traced back to Limerick and Falcarragh, Co Donegal pronounced herself "very surprised, shocked and thrilled" by her win.
However, Dr Dorothea Glatt, a member of the international jury, claimed Norah Amsellem was an "obvious choice" for first place.
The next year will see Ms Amsellem performing at Glyndeborne, the Paris Opera and with Placido Domingo in a new production of Carmen at the Met.
Second place and £5,000 went to Portlaoise's Franzita Whelan who also won the Johannes Brahms Centenary award, for the best performance of a Brahm's song.
The third prize of £2,000 went to 25-year-old Simon O'Neill while fourth and fifth prizes of £500 each went to Doreen Curran from Derry and Natalie Christie from Australia, respectively.
Ms Curran was also winner of the Dame Sutherland Trophy for the most promising singer while Ms Christie won the award for Best Twentieth Century Aria.
This is the second year of the biannual Veronica Duane Singing Competition and the first year that it was open to international singers with Irish ancestry.
As President Robinson presented the awards she remarked that she loved the "great-grandparent clause as it really widens the sense of Irishness", before going on to praise the sponsors, RTE, Veronica Dunne and Ben McArdle, Chairman of The Friends of the Vocal Arts in Ireland for "their continuing dedication to the arts in Ireland, for which we should all be grateful".
Veronica Dunne, founder of the Bursary Competition, said she had "widened the entrance regulation in this the 150th commemoration year of the Irish Famine to bring all our grandchildren home".
"And I'm delighted by the high standard of the finalists and indeed all the competitors, from both Ireland and abroad."