What's Another Year?
What’s Another Year?
It’s 25 years since Ireland has won the Eurovision song contest. As we get ready to watch this year’s show with the wonderful Lesley Roy representing us, Jennifer Stevens looks back at some of the highs and lows of our previous entries.
Since our first appearance at the Eurovision in Naples in 1965 Ireland has experienced some incredible song contest highs. For a while it seemed as though we had hit on the perfect formula and were unbeatable, just taking the occasional years off the top spot so it wouldn’t get too embarrassing for our lovely European neighbours. But with heroic victory must come defeat and since our last win in 1996 we have been on a somewhat downward spiral that has included last place, no place and a turkey, literally. Who’s to say what happened. Could the magic contained in Johnny Logan’s shoulder pads finally have run out? Could senior civil servants in the Department of Finance realised that we couldn’t afford any more Millstreet spectacles and cut the budget. Or, could Daniel O’Donnell have cursed us for never sending him? Seriously, why did we never send him?
Whatever happens this year it’s fair to say that along with Italia 90 and the Rose of Tralee, the Eurovision Song Contest is hardwired into the Irish psyche. Here are some of the most memorable moments from that last 56 years.
10. All Kinds of Everything
In 1970 we had no idea that the pretty, sweet, innocent Derry songbird that beat 11 other European stars (including Julio Iglesias) would go on to become an MEP but that’s the beauty of the Eurovision, you just never know what’s going to happen.
9. The Voice of Ireland
Dressed like a Celtic warrior princess, Eimear Quinn’s hauntingly beautiful performance of The Voice brought us our seventh and sadly, final victory. That’s 25 years ago, in case, like me you think the 90s were just the last decade.
8. Double (euro)Vision
Jedward, the loveable twins enjoyed their 2011, 8th place performance so much that they came back again in 2012 and came 12th. Little did we know then that the singing scamps would go on to become pillars of sense during the pandemic who would shave their heads live on the Late Late Show to raise money for the Irish Cancer Society. Legends!
7. What a Turkey!
In 2008 we sent a Turkey, literally and figuratively to Belgrade where he, quite unsurprisingly failed to qualify for the final. It’s possible that every country has an anthropomorphised animal TV presenter but not all of them send them to an international song contest.
6. Nil Points
For four sad and disappointing Eurovision years in a row we failed to qualify for the final. While we had failed to qualify before and have failed again since, these years marked a low point in our song contest history. Even Graham Norton on the BBC felt sorry for us.
5. A Session
When Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan took to the stage with their piano and guitar every Irish person watching knew we had this one in the bag. Anyone who has ever been to an Irish pub on the continent knows just how impossible it is to resist the lure of a singing, strumming Irish double act. A warm, nostalgic song that has stood the test of time, RocknRoll kids is a crowd pleaser that has been sung at many an Irish wedding when the DJ finishes.
4. All Hail the Queen
Queen of the Eurovision, Linda Martin is an icon of the song contest. Watching her belt out the Johnny Logan penned Why Me on that stage in Malmo is what many people picture when you say Eurovision. Her hair, that dress, the song and the fact that Linda heralded in the glory years of Ireland’s participation are what makes her Eurovision royalty.
3. Banking on Success
Like something straight out of The Commitments, in fact she performed as a lead and backing vocalist on the film soundtrack in songs such as Destination Anywhere and Do Right Woman, Do Right Man, Niamh Kavanagh went straight from working in the bank to being a chart topper when she won the contest in 1993 with In Your Eyes. Widely considered to be the best vocalist that ever won the Eurovision, the song was the bestselling single of 1993 in Ireland and reached number 24 in the UK singles charts. Thanks to Linda Martin, Niamh was also the first Irish winner on home turf.
2. The Triple Crown
If Linda Martin is the Queen of the Eurovision than Johnny Logan is undoubtedly the king. When the handsome 26-year-old appeared on stage in the Hague in 1980 an army of female fans was born. What’s Another Year was penned by Shay Healy and arranged to suit Logan’s style by Bill Whelan, who would go on to compose Riverdance for the 1994 Eurovision interval act. Overcome with the emotion of his win, Johnny shouted, I love you Ireland, instead of singing the high notes. National heartthrob Johnny returned to the song contest stage in 1987 to sing Hold Me Now, the unofficial anthem of every Irish Eurovision party. At this victory Johnny shouted I still love you Ireland and a million women screamed we love you too at their television sets. Johnny wasn’t done with the contest though and returned once more, in 1992, to pen Linda Martin’s winning song which begs the question, why didn’t we let him run the whole bloody thing forever more?
1. The Reel Winners!
There can only be one real winner of the Eurovision though and that’s Riverdance. What started as an interval act composed by Bill Whelan and performed by dancers Jean Butler and Michael Flatley along with vocal group Anúna, it went on to become a cultural phenomenon. Shortly after it’s success in Dublin’s Point theatre, husband and wife production team Moya Doherty and John McColgan took the act and turned it into a spectacular stage show. Riverdance opened in Dublin in 1995 and has gone on to be performed at over 450 venues around the world and seen by over 25 million people.