We know a lot about Eurovision; this is knowledge we want to share with you. Therefore we’d like to bring you a blast from the past. Back to 2001, the Irish entry: “Without your love” by Gary O’Shaughnessy.
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
The nineties were thé decade for Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest with no less than four victories and a second place. However, Dawn Martin (1998) and The Mullans (1999) did not make it to the top. Eamonn Toal (2000) became 6th… nice, but not as good as it was for Ireland. Something had to happen to get Ireland back on top.
Eurosong 2001
The national final for the contest was called ‘Eurosong 2001’. Seven artists competed in Eurosong. On February 25, Louise Loughman hosted the contest. The winner was chosen by televoting through 7 regional juries.
- James Peake sang “Who said I pray“, 5th with 41 pts
- InFocus sang “Every kiss is a lie”, 2nd with 70 pts
- Gavin McCormack sang “I’ll be with you“, 6th with 34 pts
- David Murphy sang “Katie lovely“, 7th with 31 pts
- Fe-Mail sang “Undertow“, 3rd with 63 pts
- Gary O’Shaughnessy sang “Without your love“, 1st with 74 pts
- Emma Reynolds sang “The innocent days“, 4th with 51 pts
It was a close call, and in total the boyband InFocus even received the most televotes while placing 2nd.
Gary O’Shaughnessy
Gary O’Shaughnessy is an Irish singer and songwriter. Besides singing, he plays guitar, bass guitar and keyboards. O’Shaughnessy started studying at age of 12 for four years with Irish jazz guitarist Eugene Macari. In 1989, he formed a band with his brother Brian and together they toured Ireland, Spain and the UK. In 1995, the two brothers performed as the duo “2 of a kind” which became very popular in cabarets, clubs and pubs.
Gary O’Shaugnessy took part in the Irish National Song Contest in 1997, 1999 and 2001. The last one he won and so he represented Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest. His cousin Ryan O’Shaughnessy did the same in 2018.
Without your love
The song “Without your love” is written and composed by Pat Sheridan. “Without your love, without your heart, I’d be lost here, in the dark”, Gary sang. You can read the full lyrics here. “Without your love” was a typical song in the tradition of Irish ballads.
Results
The Eurovision Song Contest was not a success for Gary O’Shaughnessy. To be honest: it became the worst Irish score so far. Only the United Kingdom (5 points) and Portugal (1 point) kept “Without your love” away from the zero points. O’Shaughnessy became 21st.
