RTÉ Replaces Eurovision Final with Father Ted Episode in Protest
Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ, has decided to air the 1996 episode of the sitcom Father Ted titled A Song for Europe instead of the Eurovision Song Contest final. This move is a protest against Israel’s participation in this year’s contest.
The episode features characters Father Ted and Father Dougal performing the song "My Lovely Horse," which famously earns zero points. RTÉ’s decision to broadcast this satirical episode in place of the contest has sparked controversy and accusations of antisemitism.
Controversy and Reactions
Graham Linehan, one of the creators of Father Ted, condemned RTÉ’s choice on Tuesday. He accused the broadcaster of using the show as:
"a tool of antisemitic harassment"
and described the decision as:
"an act of pointed, gleeful counter-programming"
Linehan also called for the resignation of RTÉ’s director-general, Kevin Bakhurst.
Conversely, the Irish news site Joe praised the move, calling it:
"genius trolling"
and referring to it as:
"my lovely boycott".
Other countries including Spain, Slovenia, the Netherlands, and Iceland have also chosen not to send competitors to the contest held in Austria, where 35 countries are participating under the motto "united by music." Instead of airing the grand final, Slovenia’s broadcaster will show documentaries themed Voices of Palestine, while Spain will broadcast a music program titled The House of Music.
Background on the Boycott and Eurovision Rules
The boycott follows calls for the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to revise rules to prevent countries from organizing voting campaigns. This concern arose after Israeli singer Yuval Raphael received the highest number of public votes last year and finished second overall.
The Father Ted Episode and Its Eurovision Satire
A Song for Europe is one of the most well-known episodes of Father Ted, a series that aired on from 1995 to 1998 and won several awards. The show centers on two priests, Father Ted and Father Dougal, and their housekeeper on the fictional Craggy Island.
In the episode, Ted and Dougal represent Ireland in the Eurovision contest with a deliberately tuneless song about a horse. The song was chosen because it was so bad that it was expected to prevent Ireland from winning and thus avoid the cost of hosting the next contest.
This plot reflects a widespread myth regarding Ireland’s Eurovision strategy. After winning in 1992 and 1993, it was believed that Ireland intentionally selected a weak entry, "Rock ’n’ Roll Kids," in 1994 to lose, but the song unexpectedly won. In the episode, the strategy succeeds and the characters receive zero points.
Ireland’s successful Eurovision history includes a record seven wins by 1996, a record matched only by Sweden. Some analysts attribute Ireland’s later poor results partly to the 2008 decision to enter Donal the Puppet, a children’s puppet that performed "Irelande Douze Pointe" from a shopping trolley.
