It is true, I can confirm it as it is on the panel. I couldn't give a toss about whether an entry needs to be "vaguely Irish" or not, I care about a good song, and for me I really enjoyed this one. I personally don't even really care if the artist is Irish, but she's Irish. High quality artist...
The first part is true. Next In Line was not the replacement, they most certainly were fast-tracked. I don't know which but one of Isabella/JYellowL were the replacement, I think it may have been JYellowL?