That craic isn't funny anymore

In the analysis of the Irish Republic's welcome exit at the semi-final stage of the Eurovision song contest in Kiev, we feel that there's insufficient focus on an incident last Sunday that at the very least was a bad omen:

The backing dancers for the Irish Eurovision Song Contest entry had a narrow escape today when two of them fell through a table.

17-year-old Donna Bissett and 20-year-old Lindsay Cowap, both from Dublin, were doing a jig on the table when it collapsed.

The incident happened around 5.30pm in Kiev after a news conference by the Irish Delegation.

Thus the classic staple of Irish pub antics crashed, literally and metaphorically, indicating that our fellow Europeans may feel that the whole jolly exuberant Irish thing needs some new material. Also, given the view that it's the Eurovision's move to popular voting via mobile phone that did us in, note the real possibility that a similar gimmick will infest the EU Consitution by the petition provision. No wonder the Norwegians with their Eurovision jinx prefer to stay out of the EU.