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playing with numbers

Here's how Irish Eurovision superfans rate Ireland's chances this year

Has our time come again?

LAST NIGHT, IRELAND’S Eurovision 2015 entry was chosen live on the Late Late Show.

Sixteen-year-old Molly Sterling from Co Tipperary will be representing us in Vienna in May, singing Playing With Numbers, a ballad she co-wrote with songwriter Greg French.

mollysterlin2 RTÉ RTÉ

But what are Molly’s chances in the semi-final? DailyEdge.ie asked four of Ireland’s biggest Eurovision fans what they thought of our 2015 entry – and the reaction was, interestingly, very mixed.

DJ and music writer Conor Behan wasn’t a massive fan of Playing With Numbers:

I just found it kind of unmemorable, it doesn’t feel like a big Eurovision song. Lately it’s like Ireland is almost embarrassed to be taking part, there hasn’t been a really big song with a sense of drama, and I don’t think [this year's] song has that.
Last year, the Netherlands came second with something similar, and I think it’s chasing that kind of vibe. It doesn’t look like a song that would translate to stage very well – but it could stand out because there mightn’t be a lot of piano ballads this year. It’s very Ella Henderson with a smidge of Emilie Sandé, which isn’t a bad thing, it just isn’t Eurovision.

The Late Late Show / YouTube

Drag queen Davina Devine hosts the Eurovision events at The George Bar every year, and agrees that it’s certainly not standard ESC fare:

I’m actually really surprised by what won - I thought it was a little boring for Eurovision. It definitely gave me Ella Henderson vibes, but it’s just a little bit too drab, Eurovision is supposed to be super camp and super flashy.
I don’t think it’s ever going to work out for us, our moment in the sun is over. Whatever won last year, we’ll send someone to do that this year, it’s that ‘a little bit too late’ pattern that we have. But you never know what they’ll like – like the year Lena won for Germany.
Irelands Eurovision Song ContestsAll the contestants with Ryan before last night's showSource: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland

Journalist and Eurovision megafan Sarah Doran thinks the song has promise, but the performance needs a boost before the semi-finals:

I've long believed that if Ireland is to do well at Eurovision, it needs to bring back the Dana factor. By that I mean keep it simple - get a nice singer to since a nice song that'll have maximum impact. To a extent, I think we've found that with Molly Sterling - she's a good singer with a voice that definitely wouldn't sound out of place in the charts.
And yet I can't help but feel as though the song just doesn't GO anywhere. It needs that "hop up off that stool like a good Westlife lad" key change and a sudden swell of music to give it oomph. Hopefully they can pump up the volume before staging it in Vienna. If they do, I think we stand a decent enough chance of qualifying.

Dónal Mulligan has hosted Pantibar's Eurovision party for six years now, and believes this might be the year the competition actually goes back to being a 'song' contest:

"I think we picked the best one of the ones that were available - I was a bit worried that we were going to pick something that was a clone of what's been done in the past," he said.

But she has a brilliantly mature voice for someone of that age, the chorus has a nice hook, and I do think if there's a strong Yes vote in the marriage referendum the day before the stars might align, and lots of gay voters might throw us a lifeline!
The Netherlands tried something different two years ago with Anouk, it was completely new to Eurovision and worked for people. Because the public voting is back in and people are tiring of hyper-produced big pop numbers, there's space for a good, original song to win.

More: Here's Ireland's song for Eurovision 2015>

7 weird and wonderful moments from the Late Late Show Eurosong Special>

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