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The Lord Mayor of Dublin believes Ireland should boycott the Eurovision Song Contest in 2019.

Sinn Fein councillor Micheal Mac Donncha feels entering next year's competition - which will be held in Israel - would be appropriate because of the country's ongoing conflict with Palestine.

Councillor Mac Donncha was recently banned from entering the Middle Eastern country after attending a conference in Ramallah at the invitation of the Palestinian Authority.

At the time, the Israeli embassy in Dublin accused Mac Donncha and Dublin City Council of “waging a campaign of hatred and discrimination” against them.

And speaking to Dublin Live about Israel's role in hosting next year's Eurovision, Mac Donncha said Ireland should show solidarity with the Palestinian people by refusing to enter.

He said: "I would support that, I don't think we should send a representative.

(Image: Collins/Gareth Chaney)

"I think the horrific ordeal of the Palestinian people needs to be highlighted. There needs to be solidarity just as there was with the people of South Africa with the apartheid regime."

Mac Donncha added: "The Irish-Palestine solidarity campaign has collected the names of 500 artists who have said they would not work in the state of Israel, that they would boycott it in the protest and the treatment of the Palestinian people."

Last month, Dublin City Council voted to support a boycott and economic sanctions against Israel over the country's response to recent protests at the Gaza border.

It also voted to support cutting ties with IT giant Hewlett Packard (HP), with a motion claiming the company's technology is being used to support the Israeli occupation of the West Bank.