Ireland IRELAND 2024 - Bambie Thug - Doomsday Blue

[ESC United Mod Team]

 

[Cathan]

Sorry for spamming at this stage but listen to this interview from 2019 that was reposted in 2021 after Lesley NQ'ed

https://twitter.com/IreMusPod/status/1394789028449357824

If you were in any doubt about how incompetent our HoD was...

 

[Mainshow]

I hate such people - it´s quite easy... just showcase your aspects of your culture(s) or submit something extraordinary or niche (like a metal band, a jazz artist, a country artist or whatever) or come up with some Gaelic opera pop with shitloads of harp and flute sounds.... and you will get better results than just submitting the most generic pop songs on Earth performed by bad to mediocre vocalists.

I fail to see how broadcasters like or believe that sending radio-friendly songs will make you get a "mid-table result" at Eurovision. It´s braver to send something unique and shocking (such entries usually don´t win Eurovision - so you don´t have to bother about hosting the event the following year but they will attract televoters' attention to get a few points).

A pity hasn´t understood it yet. At least, is F-I-N-A-L-L-Y trying something else this year!

Hopefully, will do the same next year!

 

[JenJen94]

Yeah, I would absolutely love them to send something along the lines of what they did in JESC last year-something Gaelic for example, traditional and something clever along the lines of that-something that will stand out, turn heads. It would certainly be interesting to see how that does.

Yes, I don't mind Wild Youth at all this year and I did want Connolly to win their NF, but I'd like to see them try that.

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

These are all issues but the main and overall issue is the HoD. Michael Kealy literally admitted in an interview with Indopendent.ie in 2017 that "The problem with the Late Late is that a lot of professional acts of any calibre are reluctant to come along and engage in that type of competition, which is understandable." so based on that the LLS should be completely written off as a option. I hear all these issues and they may be issues to an expect but at the end of the day the most important thing is having a good HoD, we have a man close to retirement who has a clue what he's doing as our HoD so is it any real surprise we are so hopeless? I listen on Euro trip to interviews with the Irish, Czech & Ukrainian HoD and hearing Michael Kealy compared to the others would almost drive you to the drink, its like they literally pulled a random person off the street, scarily out of his depth in the job and the only thing he's thought out is the excuses he's going to make when Ireland embarrass themselves in May.

If money is an issue then go back to internal selections, and do it properly and not the amateur fashion.

I didn't realise he'd made that comment about the Late Late. He's admitted there that the format isn't working, yet 6 years on he's still persisting with this strategy. Disgraceful.

 

[rasmuslights]

I hate such people - it´s quite easy... just showcase your aspects of your culture(s) or submit something extraordinary or niche (like a metal band, a jazz artist, a country artist or whatever) or come up with some Gaelic opera pop with shitloads of harp and flute sounds.... and you will get better results than just submitting the most generic pop songs on Earth performed by bad to mediocre vocalists.

I fail to see how broadcasters like or believe that sending radio-friendly songs will make you get a "mid-table result" at Eurovision. It´s braver to send something unique and shocking (such entries usually don´t win Eurovision - so you don´t have to bother about hosting the event the following year but they will attract televoters' attention to get a few points).

A pity hasn´t understood it yet. At least, is F-I-N-A-L-L-Y trying something else this year!

Hopefully, will do the same next year!

I don't think Germany will do that well this year as well. And Germany also tried "different" in 2019.

Radio-friendly is acceptable and can do well, but it needs to be done well as well (Germany 2018).

 

[MopManMoss]

I didn't realise he'd made that comment about the Late Late. He's admitted there that the format isn't working, yet 6 years on he's still persisting with this strategy. Disgraceful.

I am convinced his hands are tied about eurosong not having its own dedicated tv show, funding is tight maybe things will change in 2025

 

[Cathan]

I didn't realise he'd made that comment about the Late Late. He's admitted there that the format isn't working, yet 6 years on he's still persisting with this strategy. Disgraceful.

The man’s deluded, he went from this to only a few years later all of a sudden saying “everyone dream is to be on the LLS”…

 

[Cathan]

I am convinced his hands are tied about eurosong not having its own dedicated tv show, funding is tight maybe things will change in 2025

Or he’s just a terrible HoD. If his hand’s were truly tied and it was nothing to do with his ability as a HoD then the internal selections wouldn't have been so terrible either. Don’t be gas lit by his nice guy appearances in interview’s, he’s a bad HoD and quite frankly I don’t blame RTE for not giving him money, would be better off dumping it into a pit of fire.

Can we also just do away with this “finances” bull crap also? It’s just a convenient excuse that he uses as it’s easy to throw around and no one can argue with it. Like I said previously the amount we’ve spent on our acts in recent years has been more than enough to be competitive with a half decent HoD. As soon as you start entering this discussion you are being successfully gas lit by Michael, don’t fall for it.

 

[MopManMoss]

Or he’s just a terrible HoD. If his hand’s were truly tied and it was nothing to do with his ability as a HoD then the internal selections wouldn't have been so terrible either. Don’t be gas lit by his nice guy appearances in interview’s, he’s a bad HoD and quite frankly I don’t blame RTE for not giving him money, would be better off dumping it into a pit of fire.

Can we also just do away with this “finances” bull crap also? It’s just a convenient excuse that he uses as it’s easy to throw around and no one can argue with it. Like I said previously the amount we’ve spent on our acts in recent years has been more than enough to be competitive with a half decent HoD. As soon as you start entering this discussion you are being successfully gas lit by Michael, don’t fall for it.

I have at no point said he is anything but a terrible HoD we have qualified once in ten years he should not have his job, all I have said throughout is that a lot more needs to change than just who the HoD is and it just isnt going to happen

 

[DanielLuis]

I am convinced his hands are tied about eurosong not having its own dedicated tv show, funding is tight maybe things will change in 2025

I'm pretty sure that is the case, but he should have pushed for internal selections to continue at least until RTÉ's budget allows for an independent NF. Sure the results weren't being great, but it's the same story with the NF, and at least that way they don't absolutely embarrass themselves to the whole ESC fandom and Irish public in february.

 

[Cathan]

I have at no point said he is anything but a terrible HoD we have qualified once in ten years he should not have his job, all I have said throughout is that a lot more needs to change than just who the HoD is and it just isnt going to happen

The vast majority of Ireland's woes are to do with who's the HoD. When you have a terrible HoD everything else falls to pieces, getting a new HoD is one of the issues that need resolving but solving that issue will help solve alot of other's in the process.

 

[MopManMoss]

The solution is to get Donna and Joe to do it again but this time sing about hate

 

[Cathan]

I'm pretty sure that is the case, but he should have pushed for internal selections to continue at least until RTÉ's budget allows for an independent NF. Sure the results weren't being great, but it's the same story with the NF, and at least that way they don't absolutely embarrass themselves to the whole ESC fandom and Irish public in february.

And like I've said previous I would be more sympathetic about the NF situation if the internal selections proved to be much better but we fall into the same trap there also. In fact like for like we make almost identical errors there.

 

[Mainshow]

I don't think Germany will do that well this year as well. And Germany also tried "different" in 2019.

Radio-friendly is acceptable and can do well, but it needs to be done well as well (Germany 2018).

"different" like "different but still a quality entry/something would be listening to outside the Eurovision bubble.

Michael´s performance was amazing and very impactful - and it was still kinda "different" for Germany because we usually don´t send ballads, either (we had mid-tempo radio-friendly pop songs without any appeal for years now: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022).

I don´t expect LOTL to escape bottom 5 in the jury voting but when it comes to the televoting... who knows... it could go either way but unless our recent entries (apart from 2018) it´s not dead on arrival

 

[Cathan]

Found a post on Reddit which I think sums the situation up perfectly :

If you look back through our Irish Eurovision winners and entires - the songs and acts where all picked written and promoted by record executives and those with profiles in the music industry in the uk Europe and Ireland and RTÉ presented the songs and acts via Eurosong national final show they had a minimal hand in the selections

• then when Micheal Kealy our fortunes changed he took over as RTÉ head of entertainment in 2002 he took the Eurovision back “in house” with “your a star” as our selection shows from 2003-2005 - after that his MO changed and this is when our decent into the bloc voting excuses started to fully take root and then we hit Rock bottom with Dustin in 2008 and we have made SFA attempts to fix our issues - like clockwork after each NQ - Mr Kealy, comes out in the media with the usual we have no money / bloc voting / etc etc as an excuse and then promises to do better next year and 8 months later we get a national final that is the equivalent of a uni student discovering they had a presentation on Monday and did the bear minimum to say they tried… it’s all bullshit - he’s the worst Head of Delegation in ESC. He treats the whole thing as a 3-4 week holiday in Europe for himself and his team.

RTÉ’s distain for the ESC permeates our acts valiant attempts to do well as they don’t take it seriously and the other broadcasters and juries can see that. So we are doomed until the needed changes are applied but Kealy will not leave his gravy train job or hand off the Eurovision selection and staging to a production company or Music industry professionals as we could do well abs run the risk of winning thus meaning we couldn’t pay our “star” presenters their 500k jobs for 12 hours a week work.



It does need to be said there is a shake up atm at RTE so lets up part of that includes changing the HoD.

 

[rasmuslights]

"different" like "different but still a quality entry/something would be listening to outside the Eurovision bubble.

Michael´s performance was amazing and very impactful - and it was still kinda "different" for Germany because we usually don´t send ballads, either (we had mid-tempo radio-friendly pop songs without any appeal for years now: 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022).

I don´t expect LOTL to escape bottom 5 in the jury voting but when it comes to the televoting... who knows... it could go either way but unless our recent entries (apart from 2018) it´s not dead on arrival

that is true!

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

55 posts in this 2024 thread already, the most of any country so far. A lot of p!ssed off Irish fans wanting change, including myself

 

[SpiritofKeiino]

The solution is to get Donna and Joe to do it again but this time sing about hate

Please, NO! What have we done to deserve that!

 

[MopManMoss]

Please, NO! What have we done to deserve that!

Just imagine it

Hate can build you up
Hate can tear you down
Hate can change the world
This is what i've found

Hate can make you happy
Hate can make you cry
Hate can be the best until its passed you by
(Hate, Hate, Hate)

 

[MooseShoes]

Just imagine it

Hate can build you up
Hate can tear you down
Hate can change the world
This is what i've found

Hate can make you happy
Hate can make you cry
Hate can be the best until its passed you by
(Hate, Hate, Hate)

And there I was, thinking you meant a Donna and Joe / Hatari collab.