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The Eurovision Songs We Didn't Get To Hear That Night On Father Ted...

The Eurovision Songs We Didn't Get To Hear That Night On Father Ted...

Father Ted and Father Dougal famously failed to seduce Europe with their famous effort 'My Lovely Horse', securing a grand total of zero points and emphatically ending a sequence of five successive Irish victories.

Or so Ted claimed. Eurovision obsessives will no doubt feel compelled to point out that Ireland only won four out of five Eurovisions in 'the golden era' between 1992 and 1996.

But what of the dittiesĀ that failed that night. We all remember the racing favourite, 'The Miracle is Mine', a lavish epic of a production which sent the crowd in the Theatre Royal into raptures.

The song's composer and lead singer Dick Byrne was incensed afterwards and alleged that the eventual choice of 'My Lovely Horse' suggested that Ireland were intent on losing the Eurovision song contest that year.

However, several songs were edited out of the production on Channel 4 that night. What of them?

They were only glimpsed briefly listed on the wall behind the masterful master of ceremonies, Fred Rickwood. Here's a rundown of those compositions.

If You Could Wear My Hat Like A Heart - The Grand Girls

A traditional entry of the type that Ireland often sent off to Stockholm or Helsinki or wherever back in the 1960s and 1970s. A bunch of prim and proper girls from Roscommon, they would later campaign to help Dana win the Irish Presidency.

You Dirty English Bastards - Hairy Bowsies

Picking 'You Dirty English Bastards' would likely have sacrificed us the votes of the United Kingdom jury.

Of course, back in the golden era, Ireland struggled to garner the full 'douze points' from London anyway. Ironically, it was only when Ireland entered the Eurovision wilderness in the noughties that the UK became a reliable source of points for us - a sign of thawing relations between the two countries like no other.

'You Dirty English Bastards' was a song penned by The Hairy Bowsies, better known as the backing group of the Republican virtuoso Ding Dong Denny O'Reilly, with whom they've collaborated on such classics as the famine song 'The Potatoes aren't looking the best' and the rollicking Easter Rising tribute 'The Craic we had the day we died for Ireland'.

 

The Drums Of Africa Are Calling Me Home - Sean O'Brien

An emotional warble by gentle country singer Sean O'Brien who had emigrated to Africa, returned to Ireland in the burgeoning prosperity of the mid-1990s and now regrets coming back at all.

Sha La La La La La La La La La La La La - Death Pigs

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A jangly, poppy effort from the incongruously named 'Death Pigs' which recalls the successful UK entry of 1981, Bucks Fizz 'Making Your Mind Up'.

The Death Pigs had previously on the cover of the venerable Irish musicĀ magazine 'Rock Cupboard'. Entering the Eurovision was considered a departure for them.

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Conor Neville
Article written by
Perennial finalist in stand-up comedy competitions and former Contract Lawyer/ Coal Salesman with Corless, Corless and Sweeney

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