Irelande Douze Points!

Dustin the Turkey (RTÉ)

You can watch Ireland's entry for this year's Eurovision Song Contest online thanks to RTÉ and YouTube. No really, thank you. And here are the profound lyrics:

Oh, I come from a nation
What knows how to write a song
Oh Europe, where oh where did it all go wrong?

Come on!!!!!!

Irlande douze points

Drag acts and bad acts and Terry Wogan's wig
Mad acts and sad acts, it was Johnny Logan's gig

Shake your feathers and pop your beak
Shake 'em to the west and to the east
Wave Euro hands and Euro feet
Wiggle to the edge of the turkey beat

Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Do the funky beat

D O E double B L E yeah

Hello Abba, hello Bono, hello Helsinki
Ola Prague, hello sailor, c'est la vie
Auf wiedersehen Mama Mia, and god save the Queen
Bonjour Serbia, good day Austria
You know what I mean?

Shake your feathers and pop your beak
Shake 'em to the west and to the east
Wave Euro hands and Euro feet
Wiggle to the edge of the turkey beat

Shake your feathers and pop your beak
Shake 'em to the west and to the east
Wave Euro hands and Euro feet
Wiggle to the edge of the turkey beat

Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
(and fart!)
Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Do the funky beat
Come on!!

Give us another chance, we're sorry for Riverdance
Sure Flately he's a yank
And the Danube flows through France
Block voting, shock voting
Give your 12 today
You're all invited to Dublin, Ireland
And we'll party the Shamrock way

Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points
Do the funky beat
Come on!!

Irlande douze points
Irlande douze points

Eastern Europe we love you
Do you like Irish stew?
Or goulash as it is to you?

Shake your feathers

Listen Bulgaria, we love you
Belarus, Georgia, Montenegro,
Moldavia, Albania, Croatia,
Poland, Russia, Ukraine,
Macedonia, love you Turkey
Hungary, Estonia, Slovakia,
Armenia, Bosnia Herzegovina
And don't forget the Swiss!"

Anyone for free energy?

Is this for real?

As read in today's Observer.

The Easter Rising/Éirí Amach na Cásca

Today is the 90th anniversary of the Easter Rising, which took place largely in Dublin but that also involved smaller but similarly-spirited actions elsewhere in Ireland.

One of my grandfathers took part in one of these, armed only with farm implements, and was imprisoned for a time by the British because of it. A shipment of arms arranged from Germany through the US organisation Clan na Gael had been intercepted by the Royal Navy, though it may have been inadequate for the rising anyway.

One of my grandfather's own grandfathers in turn was English, as of course am I - such is the way of these islands.

The Easter Rising is one of the key events in the history of the British and Irish Isles, and a commemorative military parade has taken place in Dublin for the first time in 35 years, reported today by RTÉ News.

BBC Northern Ireland also has an article on observances there and in the Irish capital.

For more details about the original event, see the Irish Times' anniversary supplement and the BBC's history feature.