Marion Fossett, the singer who represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981 as a member of the all-girl pop trio Sheeba and who went on to become one of the most recognisable figures in Irish circus life as ringmistress of the famous Fossetts Circus, died on June 5, 2026. She was 71.
Fossett was one third of Sheeba alongside Maxi and Frances Campbell, a trio that became one of Ireland’s most popular pop acts in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The group first entered the Irish National Song Contest in 1978 with “It’s Amazing What Love Can Do,” failing to win the selection that year but establishing themselves as a genuine presence in the Irish pop landscape. They recorded several singles with producer Roberto Danova and built a following that extended well beyond their Eurovision ambitions.
Their moment on the biggest stage in European pop came in 1981, when they were selected to represent Ireland — the host nation that year — with “Horoscopes.” The song reached number three on the Irish charts, their biggest hit, and the exposure that followed the contest opened doors across the continent and beyond, leading to concert tours in Europe and Japan and a UK recording deal that produced the singles “The Next Night” and “Mystery.” They appeared on BBC2 and ITV and shared vocal duties with Maggie Moone on the UK ITV series Name That Tune. The trio competed in the Irish National Song Contest again in 1982, performing a song in the Irish language, and finished fourth in 1984 behind future Eurovision winners Linda Martin and Charlie McGettigan.
A road accident in the west of Ireland in 1982 shook the group and left them reluctant to continue touring at the same pace, and after a final Japanese tour in 1983 they went their separate ways. Maxi became a prominent broadcaster with RTÉ in Dublin, hosting television and radio programmes for many years. Frances Campbell worked as a broadcaster for BBC Radio Foyle in Northern Ireland. Marion Fossett returned to the world she came from, becoming ringmistress of Fossetts Circus, the family institution that has been part of Irish life for generations.
Two very different stages. The same performer. Both roles suited her.
She was 71 years old.