Ireland have had a super short history at Junior Eurovision and not with much success, but they’re giving it a red hot go this year to try top their 10th place result of 2016. This year, Ireland used a national final and hoped to leave it to the last minute to reveal who would be representing the nation, but in true Eurovision style, the result was spoiled a bit earlier than expected. Nonetheless, it would be Muireann McDonnell who won the right to represent Ireland for the third time at the contest with her song Súile Glasa. Will it be third time lucky for Ireland?
Mm, well, perhaps a win isn’t in sight for Ireland but the positives of this song is that it’s one of the most organic and genuine songs of this Junior Eurovision season. In a sense, it’s a double edged sword because it’s a perfectly likeable song from a perfectly likeable artist, but on the flip side it perhaps doesn’t have the strength to reach the heights at Junior Eurovision. It’s a standalone good song, but not in the context of 15 other songs which all have varying ranges of memorability. Unfortunately I don’t think there’s enough distinction between the verses and the choruses, so by the end of the three minutes all that seems to stick in mind is the whoah’s.
What I think is great is that we get to hear the Irish language at Junior Eurovision, and it’s something that’s missed at Eurovision. This is the type of simple song that has its audience, and it will have a strong base of fans that stem from the contest, but for the broader audience, I don’t think this will be the star of the show. Unfortunately Ireland also were place smack bang in the middle part of the show, and I don’t think this will work in favour for them.
Overall, I think this is a pleasant song but it’s just not ‘wow’ enough for me and what I want from a Junior Eurovision song. Major props to Muireann for being so genuine throughout the whole process, and for that reason I think she’s incredibly unique. Saying that, I have to give a rating, and like the running order, I’m placing this in the middle with a 5/10.
If you want to check out all the previous entries from Ireland at Junior Eurovision, make sure to check out our Junior Best of the Bunch: Ireland!
