EUROVISION'S 30 MOST CONTROVERSIAL MOMENTS. 
Part 12: 1994 (Ireland defies the odds).
Continues tomorrow.

THE BIGGEST CONTROVERSIES

Of the

EUROVISION SONG CONTEST

(1956 - 2019)  

From its inaugural year, the Eurovision Song Contest has had more than its fair share of controversial moments. This is a special look back on 30 significant upsets in chronological order.

1994

Ireland defies the odds.

The 1994 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Dublin, Ireland after the country snatched 2 consecutive victories in 1992 and 1993. The Irish TV channel RTE faced the 1994 event confident that another country would win and be hosting the ESC in 1995.

Despite its title, Ireland’s entry was the slow-paced “Rock ‘N’ Roll Kids”, performed by a male duo consisting of Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan. At the time, the word was out that Ireland did not want to win again and so chose a very unlikely song to represent the nation.

The odds were certainly stacked against the entry: no male duo had ever won. No country had achieved 3 wins in-a-row. The performers would also be the oldest winners if they triumphed.

But, triumph they did, and how! The song achieved the biggest winning margin ever, collecting 226 points- well ahead of the Polish runner-up which gained 166. The fact that only countries where English was an official language could perform in that language no doubt helped secure another Irish win. Though it must be noted that in 1994, the United Kingdom finished in 10^th position.

RTE now had to face hosting Eurovision once more in 1995. The Irish victory marked the first (and remains the only) time any country has won 3 successive Contests. Despite the significance of another win for Ireland, there was a backlash from some of the other participating nations. To many, the song did not seem worthy of the win, but the unlikely victor did receive a resounding endorsement on the leaderboard. “Rock ‘N’ Roll Kids” collected 12 points from 8 countries; more than any of the other competitors.

Ireland would win once again in 1996. This was the country’s 7^th total win: a record it still holds to this day. The dissatisfaction with yet another Irish victory and a lacklustre song prompted the introduction of tele-voting to help determine the winning entry from 1997 to the present day.