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“CHRONIC UNDERFUNDING” IS partly to blame for Ireland’s poor showing at the Eurovision.
That’s according to Michael Kealy, who is RTÉ’s head of the Eurovision delegation.
He was speaking on The Ray D’Arcy Show on RTÉ Radio 1 on Wednesday following the failure of Irish entry Wild Youth to make it through to this year’s Eurovision grand final.
Ireland has now failed to qualify for the grand final on eight of our last 10 attempts, despite holding the record for the most Eurovision wins at seven.
Kealy said Wild Youth were “devastated” to have not made it past the semi-finals and noted that the event is a “pressure cooker”.
“Even standing on that stage, when you’re not performing in an empty arena, is terrifying enough. Nothing really can prepare you for the enormity of the Eurovision venue when you walk out onto that stage.
“It’s not like you’re doing a full hour and a half set where you get three or four songs to warm up. You’ve got to be on fire from the first second that you’re on.”
Wild Youth were selected as Ireland’s Eurovision entry following a competition on The Late Late Show.
When asked by Ray D’Arcy if Ireland’s selection process needs to be separated from The Late Late Show, Kealy said that the programme has “served us well because it has been the only vehicle of a sufficient scale that we can do”.
However, he also described it as “very limited” and added: “I’m not going to win any popularity contests for saying this, but RTÉ has been chronically underfunded, I think, for decades and it shows particularly when it comes to us putting on entertainment shows.
“We do news and current affairs and sports and all sorts of other shows quite well, and very well in lots of cases.
“But when it comes to entertainment, you need scale to make it look as impressive as a show that you would see in other European countries. The truth is, our facilities in RTÉ aren’t sufficient to mount shows like that.”
Kealy also said that Ireland’s studio facilities compare unfavourably to other European countries of a similar size and population, like Finland and Austria.
When pressed on how he feels about his role as the head of the Eurovision delegation, Kealey said: “I enjoy doing this and I’ll do it as long as RTÉ want me to do it.
“I’m not the most popular person on social media among some of the fans but I always think of it as something a bit like, if I can torture an analogy here, a bit like a rundown train running on a poorly maintained track and it’s always late.
“Is getting rid of the driver going to fix it or do you invest in the infrastructure to improve the actual train itself? So that would be my view.
“I don’t know if that’s any help to anybody but the bottom line is I still enjoy doing it and I’ll do it as long as RTÉ wants me to.”
Kealy added that he didn’t know if the Eurovision selection process will be separated from The Late Late Show next year and said: “That will be a conversation to have with the heads of the entertainment department in RTÉ and with the incoming Late Late Show team.”
The head of Ireland’s Eurovision delegation also said that Wild Youth “had a very clear vision of what they wanted to do” and that lead singer Conor O’Donohoe “wanted the gold look and wanted to wear the spangly gold outfit”.
When asked if he had any say in the stage show, Kealy said: “My job isn’t to impose my artistic vision on them. My job is just to help them realise their own artistic vision to the best of their ability and our ability and to make it work from a Eurovision point of view as well.
“The best thing that I can do is to help an artist realise their vision and their potential on the stage.
“I’ll advise them if I think something could be done slightly better or slightly differently and I’m there to really make sure that we’re getting the best possible use of the cameras that are available and the use of the lighting and all that kind of stuff.”
Kealey also denied that entry for acts to the competition is a “closed shop situation”.
Kealey said: “It’s not a closed shop. We advertised for people to send in songs, that’s open to anybody who wants to send in a song.
“I don’t limit it to a certain set of artists or individuals. Anybody who wants to send a song can send it in and they are all listened to and they are not just listened to by me.
“They are listened to by a panel of 30 or 40 different people.”
He also noted that Ireland has tried many methods over the past decade in terms of deciding on Ireland’s entry to the Eurovision.
One of the worrying trends in the last few years is the re-emergence of anti Semitism amongst far right and far left ideologues.
@Ned Gerblansky: hmmm I’d contest your point there. I think the left have given rise to anti-Zionism which is not the same as anti-semitism, they’ve some valid points when it comes to this giving the handling of issues in the Middle East.
It is in fact the far right, the likes of trump and the rest that set a precedent and target one or two groups and suddenly it’s a free for all when it comes to attacking certain groups, ethnicities etc for others to attack.
@Ned Gerblansky: there is a huge difference between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and you appear to be eliding the difference. The latter position is common on the Left including Left Wing Jewish groups.
@The Guy is Here: I disagree. There is a rise of antisemitism and you can call it anti Zionism if you wish. I myself while pro Israeli reject Zionism but I can see that position used for intolerance. There is a simple fact in relation to antisemitism in the western world. Jews are living in fear & many of them are emigrating to Israel. Now we can have a whole argument about Israeli behaviour in relation to it’s neighbours but how does that correlate with British French and German Jews. Also while we agree in relation to trump & his light on the right you failed to mention Corbyns labour party on the left in the UK which not only covered up antisemitism it promotes. In my view antisemitism is always a sign trouble is coming & we are already well down that road.
@The Guy is Here: “I think the left have given rise to anti-Zionism”
The lefts opposition to Zionism has become a convenient cover for many plain old anti-semites. Anti-semitism has been on the rise on the left side of the spectrum for some time.
Hate crimes against Jews in New York for instance have shot up in recent years and they are almost always perpetrated by non whites. You cannot pin those on the far right.
Basically far right and far left are two sides of the same coin and both should be shunned.
@The Guy is Here: Not wanting Jews to have a homeland IS anti-semetic, it is in fact growing rapidly in far left circles… ask the Labour Party in the UK. Far left circle ideologies tell them that “the Jews” have influence in everything and too much “wealth” & “privilege”. Growing Communist communities in fact DO talk about Jews ideally “redistributing” their money. Much akin to what Hitler did in Germany by taking over Jewish businesses.
“Trump” isn’t “far right”… the KKK is far right. If you continue painting someone who isn’t “far right” or “anti-semetic” to be so… you in fact are causing people to not take future “far right” accusations seriously… and thus contributing to the hostile environment Jews increasingly have to live in.
@Will: the far right and far left are not the same. Your point are weak and reductionist and your knowledge is clearly redundant.
@Mjhint: your point died at pro Israel.
@The Guy is Here: The far left and the far right are extremists and both have a tendency towards violence in order to achieve their aims. They are most definitely two sides of the same coin.
You haven’t proposed an argument and went straight to personal attacks. I think I can dismiss you’re opinion based on that alone.
I bet you frequent many a far left conspiracy site.
@Mjhint:: I disagree, antisemitism is and always will be there, to pretend it is not will not solve anything. The way the so-called democracy of Israel treats its neighbors and especially the brutal treatment of the Palestinians does them no favours, carrying out crimes against humanity is not the answer for a people who have endured crimes against humanity and they of all people should know better. You cant claim the high moral ground while they do what they do. If the Palestinian question was resolved in a humane manner then that would reduce an lot of anti-Israel sentiment.
@The Guy is Here: are you suggesting we get rid of Israel?
@Da_Dell: I completely agree with you in relation to the Palestinian question & Israel’s behaviour in relation to this is disgraceful. It is the case though that Israel is only 50% of the problem. Far more Palestinians are killed by their own side & nothing about it. This is a complex matter & Israel should be held to account particularly by it’s ally across the Atlantic but the attitudes on the Arab side needs to be addressed & it’s slowly happening.
@Mjhint: I would also agree with what you there .. At some point there needs to be something like in the North .. where you had to say enough is enough, agree that there was and is issues on both sides, draw a line in the sand, shake hands and move forward with a fair negotiated 2 state solution.
@Mjhint: Yip, while neither’s sides wrongs should be dismissed, maybe accepted & move on. The wrongs of either side, will never be able to be righted, to the satisfaction of the other at this stage. I know it will not be easy but if there was some relaxation of the ‘blockade’ of Palestine and let them have some sort of a normal life, it would help reduce the number of extremists etc and maybe stop another generation in abject poverty etc who see Israel as the cause. We saw this in the North, the more freedoms that were won over time, lead then to less of a perceived need for those tactics that won those freedoms and more emphasis on a negotiated solution. Whether same results would have occurred of those were given instead of having to be won is debatable of course.
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