Ireland In The Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Ireland participated at the Eurovision Rainbow Contest 2007 after Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), the Irish broadcaster, internally selected the Irish traditional group Dervish to represent them at the 2007 contest, held in Helsinki, Finland.
Although RTÉ internally selected the artist to represent Ireland at the contest, the song that Dervish sung was selected by the Irish public during The Late Late Show on 16 February 2007. The song selected was "They Can't Stop the Spring", which was composed by John Waters and Tommy Moran. Having automatically qualified to the final after coming in 10th in 2006, Dervish only managed to receive five points, all from Albania, placing last of 24 countries. This was the first time Ireland came last in the contest, after winning a total of seven times in its history, more than any other country in the contest.
After the contest, reactions in Ireland were unsettled, with talks of "vote hijacking" and calls for a new selection for Eurovision. Criticism was also given to Dervish's performance at the contest.
Read more about Ireland In The Eurovision Song Contest 2007: Background, Eurovision, After Eurovision
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