Head of the Irish delegation Michael Kealy has announced on the Euro Trip podcast that 320 songs have been submitted to national broadcaster RTÉ, in the hopes of changing Ireland’s fortunes at Eurovision in Turin.
Ireland’s representative will be selected in a special episode of RTÉ’s The Late Late Show at some point in early 2022, the first time Ireland will have held a national final since 2015, when Molly Sterling won Eurosong 2015 with piano-driven waltzer Playing With Numbers.
Despite having won the Contest 7 times, the last time in 1996, Ireland has struggled at Eurovision of late, famously voicing this frustration through their song in 2008 when Dustin the Turkey, a puppet from long-running children’s show The Den, performed the subversive and mildly-xenophobic Irlande Douze Pointe.
Ireland’s last two attempts at Eurovision have seen them come last in their respective semi-finals, and in 2019, finishing last overall with Sarah McTernan’s 22. Even Lesley Roy’s elaborate staging for Maps, designed by Heroes director Fredrik Rydman, was not enough to save them from the bottom.
In other recent news, Ireland released its entry for Junior Eurovision 2021 an hour ago. Organised by Irish-language channel TG4, Maiú Levi Lawlor will sing the pop rock toetapper Saor in Paris in December.
When do you think Ireland will rediscover its former glory at Eurovision? Who would you like to see on the Late Late Show? Let us know in the comments and on social media.
