IRELAND – Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Ireland’s representative in 2018 Eurovision in Lisbon, recently revealed that “Together”, the song with which he achieved the country’s best result since 2011, was rejected in the previous year’s selection.
According to the artist, the song by Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Mark Caplice and Laura Elizabeth Hughes was composed for Brendan Murphy, an artist chosen internally by RTÉ to represent the country in Kyiv.
However, the candidacy was turned down by participation mentor Louis Walsh, who wanted a song by famous composers, opting for “Dying To Try“, a song composed by Jörgen Elofsson and James Newman, the British representative in 2020.
The following year, RTÉ contacted Ryan O’Shaughnessy about the song, questioning who should interpret the theme in Eurovision. The artist initially refused the possibility of interpreting the song, changing his position after RTÉ accepted that Ryan’s imposition of “having control over everything“, such as production, video clip, clothing, performance and stage performance.
Recalling his participation in Lisbon, Ryan O’Shaughnessy guarantees that “he does not regret having seized the opportunity”, despite the “hard work”, stressing that he celebrated qualifying for the Grand Final as “if he had won everything”.
On the censorship carried out by the Chinese broadcaster regarding the homosexual couple in the performance, which motivated the end of the partnership with EBU / EBU, Ryan admits that he was “happy because it means that he was saying something that made a difference”, admitting new participation at the Eurovision Festival, both as an “interpreter or composer”.
Chosen internally by RTÉ, Brendan Murray represented Ireland at the Eurovision Festival 2017 with “Dying to Try“, ranking in 13th place with 86 points, 15 points from the qualification.
Ryan O’Shaughnessey and “Together” were chosen internally to represent Ireland in Eurovision 2018. In Lisbon, the singer won the country’s first qualification for the Grand Final since 2013, finishing in 16th place with 136 points.
