Category: dustin

Ireland’s best hope for winning?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Z28STzFIFBU%26

While I’m not originally from Cork I have lived there long enough to know who took the horse to France!

OK, that is a joke, one which I told in front of an Irish person and an Australian person recently. The Irish person got it straight away the the Aussie was lost. Rightly as it turned out as it requires the person to have grown up in Ireland watching those God damn Kerrygold ads for years (for the Aussies : “Don’t eat the Dinosaur Daddy!”, same thing or Americans “He likes it! Hey Mikey!“).

As I have traveled I have found that some aspects of humour don’t travel well. Many a time I was tripped up in the states when my patented sarcasm was not only not funny, but almost started a rows. Australia has been more forgiving thankfully probably because it’s culture is largely influenced by the Irish who helped build it, but some times they can still get lost usually a glazed look staring back at me.

Which brings me back to Dustin the Turkey who, as expected, won the popular vote for the Eurovision song contest and is off to Serbia. Dustin is an institution in Ireland and is much loved , a whole generation of kids have grown up with Dustin much like the American who grew up with Barney. He has been releasing albums in Ireland for years, some times even duetting with Bob Geldof, Chris de Burg, Ronnie Drew and the Saw Doctors. His humour is cut very down the Irish centre line, “Where do you go to, you’re Ugly”, is one of my favourites. However like my experiences what works in Ireland may not work abroad.

Admittedly the Eurovision isn’t what it used to be, gone are the quality days of Dana and Johnny Logan, we now have the likes of Lordi and Dana International (not that there is any thing wrong with that type of thing). One could be forgiven that any gimmick will do. However I don’t think that Dustin will travel well this time, sorry Dustin, you are just not Zig and Zag. The strong Dublin accent and the hatred of all things culchie is lost on people who can’t tell the different between the Irish and the English.

I wonder what the writers of Father Ted are thinking of all this. In the popular episode, A song for Europe, the Irish goal was to make sure Ireland would lose the Eurovision as they were broke from winning it too many time. It was funny because it almost seemed true. This time it is real so is it true?

Dustin the turkey refuses to pull Out of Eurosong contest

While living overseas usually a day doesn’t go by when you aren’t asked something about where you are from. Most of the time the questions are easy, for example why is Ireland so green? Easy, it rains all the time. Other times the questions can be hard like why did Ireland rejected the Treaty of Nice the first time around, eh… Slavery?

However this one is going to be real hard. What! Has Ireland entered a puppet turkey into the Eurovision Song contest? Eh … I believe to understand this, one must first consider the socio-political situation that led to World War I…

Well not yet, but Ireland’s own, Dustin the Turkey, has gotten down to the final six and on February 23rd it will go to the nation to pick who they feel should represent Ireland in Serbia. The other final five competitors are up in arms, because there is a very real chance that they could lose.

Three of the country’s top music men, songwriter Phil Coulter, Frank McNamara and Eurovision veteran Shay Healy, all criticised the decision by an RTE committee to select the popular bird as one of the six finalists for Ireland’s entry.

However it may not be the end of the world. Dustin has been an ambassador for Ireland before, in my travels I have seen him on American TV (I believe he was running for president) and more recently on aussie TV. I still remember the first time Dustin appeared on the Den, who would have thought he was last this long?