10 May 2023 , 08:50
905
0
Ireland has sadly failed to qualify for the grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest, despite the best efforts of this year's entry, Wild Youth.
The Dublin-born indie band were among the five acts eliminated during the 15-strong first live semi-final of the week at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool.
Wild Youth's frontman, Conor O'Donohoe, took to the stage in a sparkling gold jumpsuit, but sadly, the band lost out on securing a place in the final after having high hopes that could make it for the first time since 2018.
After failing to nab a spot at the final in Liverpool on Saturday with the the group's song We Are One, Conor, 29, took to Instagram to hit out at the Eurovision Song Contest.
In a now deleted post, the Dublin-born singer shared his frustrations that Wild Youth didn't stand a chance at making it through to the final amid hopes that Ireland would finally be able to shine for the first time in five years.
John Lydon loses bid to represent Ireland in Eurovision with song honouring wife
Ireland sadly failed to qualify (AP)"We did everything we could. But the truth is they never give Ireland a chance. Sorry if we let you down, we tried our best," the heartbroken singer penned in the now deleted caption.
Before taking to the stage for their performance, the band had said they would be hugely disappointed if they failed to make it through, and that they had 'given it their all'.
RTE’s Eurovision boss Michael Kealy said of the band: “We are extremely proud of Wild Youth - they put on a brilliant performance and were fantastic representatives for Ireland.”
Conor has since deleted the postIreland has taken part in Eurovision more than 50 times with a record-breaking seven wins, making Ireland the country which holds the most amount of wins.
However, Ireland has failed to qualify for the final since former Britain's Got Talent star, Ryan O'Shaughnessy entered with his song Together in 2018.
As Ireland waved goodbye to a chance of making it into the final last night, the 10 countries who have actually made it through to the grand final were Croatia, Moldova, Switzerland, Finland, Czechia, Israel, Portugal, Sweden, Serbia and Norway.
Conor O'Donohoe of Ireland’s representatives for Eurovision 2023A total of 15 acts competed in the first of the contest's two semi-finals - with only the top 10 acts reaching the grand final on Saturday.
The second semi-final will take place tonight before the grand final on 13 May.