Eurovision is a platform available to every country in Europe. It celebrates diversity and similarities, unity and division, and most of all it serves as a neutral ground for the entirety of Europe to grab hands and stand as one if they chose to. If your only exposure to the vast population of European countries is the Eurovision Song Contest once a year, what would your view of these countries be? Would it be an accurate depiction of the country's current national identity and current political state? Or would it be a depiction of what the country wants the rest of the world to view them as? It could all be a joke to some countries and rightly so with some of the acts I have seen. However, many countries use the Eurovision Song Contest as a platform to boost tourism and solidify their national brand. The Republic of Ireland might not use the Eurovision stage as effectively as some countries. While they participate every year, their content has been on a continuous decline ever since 1997. In this blog, I will discuss the reasons why and see how well the Republic of Ireland’s Eurovision entries align with their national identity.
To summarize my first blog post, "National Identity of the Republic of Ireland," I discuss the Republic of Ireland’s current national identity. While Ireland is primarily Roman Catholic Irish families with a Gaelic heritage, if you look a little closer, “othering” factors such as the minority groups and the English, challenge the traditional views so it is hard to say exactly what the national identity of Ireland is. A small population of travellers and a neglected group of presbyterian church members are not exactly the image of the Republic of Ireland but their presence is enough to challenge the traditional view of an Irish citizen. As well, the Irish continue to struggle to define themselves from their previous suppressor, the English. Emphasis on their Gaelic heritage is an effort to present the Republic of Ireland as a unique country rather than a part of the United Kingdom.
In blog post two, “The Universal Term of Love,” I look a little closer at methods of nation branding on the Eurovision stage and how that may affect the national identity of the Republic of Ireland. Through the five years I analyzed, a common theme that seemed to arise in the performances was love. While expressing a universal term that all can relate to, the songs didn’t do much more. This is significant because it reflected Ireland's stance in politics involving countries across Europe. With mild lyrics and un-intriguing composition, Ireland presents songs that do everything but push the boundaries of the typical Eurovision song. However, one entry steps out of the box of Eurovision tropes with a distinctively Irish folk song, highlighting their rich Gaelic roots in order to show the distinct contrast between the Republic of Ireland and its neighbors.
For years, the English held control over the entire island of Ireland. Ever since the Republic of Ireland finally won their independence in 1922, the Irish government has made it a priority to bring back Gaelic traditions and keep Irish Gaelic as an official language of the country in efforts to distance themselves from the United Kingdom. The inclusion of traditional Gaelic instruments such as the bodhran and the Irish fiddle in Eurovision entries support this act of nation branding on the Eurovision stage. These instruments are especially prominent in the 2007 performance “They Can’t Stop the Spring” (Dervish) along with the composition of the song. This entry is considered “Celtic-folk,” a staple in the true Irish experience. Viewers are sure to know what country is represented on the stage. The lyrics of the song shows the Republic of Ireland’s support to the rest of Europe. Like I said in my previous blog post, this song is full of imagery that illustrates this. Across borders from “Lisadell to Latvia” (Deverish, 2007) and throughout the entire continent, Ireland shows their support by respecting transformative, historical moments in Europe such as the demolishment of the Berlin Wall. This song depicts the Republic of Ireland as a neutral nation in world politics that supports the European community and the unification of the continent while still successfully separating themselves as a unique country. This form of nation branding on the worldwide stage shows Ireland's effort to solidify its place in the European Union and its neutrality in cross-border affairs.
However, the Republic of Ireland still is true to ties in their United Kingdom counterpart. Each performer sent to Eurovision in the five-year span that I analyzed has been of Irish heritage, however, one of them were not from the Republic of Ireland but of Northern Ireland, the territory that is part of the United Kingdom. Brian Kennedy, a contestant in 2006, for example, is from Belfast, Northern Ireland. This is interesting but not surprising. Many catholic citizens of Northern Ireland identify with the Republic of Ireland. Bringing these performers to Eurovision as a part of the Republic of Ireland team is showing Ireland support these citizens and the importance of Irish heritage.
Ireland does not necessarily misalign with their portrayed national identity on the Eurovision stage, however, that could be because their entries are so indifferent. Most of the entries in the years I analyzed didn’t do much to brand their nation. Other than all the participants performing for Ireland looking ethnically white, there are no other clues to who is performing on stage. “They Can’t Stop the Spring” (Dervish, 2007) was a turning point and took the competition in a different direction by using recognizable Irish-Gaelic themes on stage. However, for the most part, I observed that the Republic of Ireland doesn’t seem to put much effort into what they put forth in the yearly competition.
The Eurovision Song Contest is a tradition in Europe that started in 1956 (“Ireland Timeline”) to bring war-torn Europe together peacefully. Ireland has been participating since 1965 and holds the record of seven wins. However, the last time they won was in 1996. Ireland is a well-developed country so they may not feel that they need to use Eurovision as a platform to brand their nation like much smaller, less established countries. There is also a possibility that the Republic of Ireland views Eurovision as a joke and only participates in it because of its traditional importance.
The seeming lack of effort in the four performances from 2003-2006 could be reflective of the countries embarrassment of the competition. Ireland has a significant amount of successful musicians such as the rock band U2 and the Irish-rock band The Cranberries. Why don't we see them representing Ireland's musical talent on the Eurovision stage? Possibly because Ireland's view of Eurovision is something to joke about, not to take seriously.
Another possible reason is because of finances. Between the years 1992-1996, Ireland won four times. While hosting the contest is great publicity for the country, it is also very expensive. Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the broadcaster of the song contest in Ireland, had to host the contest seven times in a sixteen-year span. That can get to be very expensive and as technology advances, the production gets more and more demanding and expensive (Moles, 2010).
The song entries, in general, seem lazy at best, as if not taken seriously and this could be the reason for such a shallow representation of the national identity of the Republic of Ireland on the Eurovision stage. The Eurovision song contest could be a source of embarrassment for the country in the past decade and a half. Ireland still holds the most wins in Eurovision history with seven performances, however, they have not won since 1996.
By the looks of the Republic of Ireland on the Eurovision stage, the national identity is just short of shallow. While they throw in some traditional Gaelic instrumentation and symbolism every now and then, the entries are not “in-your-face Irish.” While many countries use the Eurovision Song Contest as a stage to brand their nation and solidify their national identity, Ireland seems to feel as if this competition is not the way they would like to brand their nation. The Republic of Ireland is well established in Europe. People know who they are unlike many smaller countries in the East such as Armenia that is just trying to be recognized and differentiated from other neighboring countries. In this case, it seems as though Ireland and its people consider the contest more as a joke than a platform to present their country. Ireland may not put forth a perfect image of the Irish identity on the Eurovision stage, but they participate to celebrate the tradition of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Work Cited
"History." Eurovision.tv. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.
"Ireland in Eurovision Voting & Points." Eurovisionworld. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2017. http://eurovisionworld.com/?eurovision=ireland
Moles, Jonathan. “The Unaffordable Eurovision Song Contest | Jonathan Moles.” The Guardian,
Guardian News and Media, 20 May 2010, Accessed 14 Mar. 2017. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/may/20/eurovision-spending-costs
“Ireland Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 22 Mar. 2012, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1038669.stm. Accessed 12 Mar. 2017. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1038669.stm
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