RTÉ’s head of Eurovision delegation says Ireland’s lacklustre showing down to ‘chronic underfunding’

Speaking on RTÉ Radio 1’s The Ray D’Arcy show on Wednesday after Irish Eurovision hopefuls Wild Youth failed to make it through to the semi-finals, Michael Kealy said he believes that Ireland’s failure to produce a winner in recent years comes down to funding.

“I’m not going to win any popularity contests for saying this, but RTÉ has been chronically underfunded I think, in my opinion, for decades, and it shows particularly when it comes to us putting on entertainment shows,” he said.

"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, and the truth is our facilities in RTÉ are not sufficient to mount shows like that."

Asked whether he should consider his role in light of the fact that just two Irish acts have made it to the second stage of the song contest in the past decade, he responded: “Is getting rid of the driver going to fix it or do you invest in the infrastructure to improve the train itself? So that would be my view of it.”

He revealed that while the Dublin band was “devastated” after they were eliminated from the competition after performing their song We Are One in Liverpool on Tuesday night, they – like all Eurovision hopefuls – are performing under immense pressure.

“It’s quite an emotional thing...a lot of time and effort and emotional capital is spent on our Eurovision effort every year, and it’s devastating when we don’t get though to the final,” he said.

"The guys were all geared up and focused on the show last night but they had one eye on getting to the final on Saturday night. When that doesn’t happen, it’s tough. It is tough on them. I feel for any artist who has to go through it. It’s a pressure cooker out here."

The added pressure of not getting through to the semi-final is also a huge stressor, he added.

“You’re very exposed, there’s no doubt about that. But I said to the guys – as I say to anyone who takes part – people are worried about that aspect of it and they’re worried about the potential for public failure like that,” he said.

He also said the prospect of performing on the Eurovision stage itself is extremely intimidating.

“It is the most professional music competition in the world and the biggest and even standing on that stage in an empty arena when you’re not performing is terrifying enough. I’ve done that myself. And seasoned performers like Wild Youth will tell you that nothing can really prepare you for the enormity of Eurovision when you walk out onto that stage.”

Added to the sheer size of the stage is the fact that performers have just three minutes to impress or potentially be side-lined, he added.

“You only get three minutes, you’ve got to be on fire from the first second you’re on,” he said.

Despite criticism of the format of the selection process itself and other issues, he said he believes that Ireland’s failure to produce a winner in recent years comes down to funding.