Derry Eurovision winner 'at a loss' over Eurovision celebration omission

Derry's Eurovision Song Contest winner, Dana, is 'at a loss' as to why she has not been invited to take part in an  RTÉ  production celebrating Ireland's success in the competition.

The 18-year-old Thornhill College pupil was Ireland's first winner of the competition when she shot to worldwide fame by winning the event in 1970 with 'All Kinds of Everything' in Amsterdam, before an estimated viewing audience of 200 million.

The RTÉ Concert Orchestra's Eurovision Night on October 13 in the National Concert Hall in Dublin will be hosted by Marty Whelan, who also anchors RTÉ's annual TV coverage of the contest.

The show is being described as a 'celebration of the Eurovision' as well as 'our winning singers and composers.'

Ireland has won the competition a record seven times -Johnny Logan, whose father came from Derry, in 1980 and 1987,  Linda Martin in 1992, Niamh Kavanagh in 1993, Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan in 1994 and 1996 winner Eimear Quinn, who have all been invited to participate, leaving Dana as the only one not included.

Dana's brother John Brown said the singer, now aged 70, was  'completely at a loss' and doesn't understand why she was not invited.

Speaking to Extra.ie, Dana said: “I wasn't asked, nobody asked me or even told me about it. Eurovision in 1970 was Ireland's first and it changed my life forever.

“Had I been asked I would have been delighted to have taken part. I share so much with Ireland's other Eurovision winners.
“They're all my friends and we share a unique situation that  Eurovision  changed our lives forever.”

Dana's brother, John Brown, said being a part of the production 'wasn't even floated by' Dana, adding that she only heard about it when it was advertised.

He added “They are going to speak with (the winners) during the concert about their lives, what Eurovision meant for them and what they achieved. Nobody has a story like Dana.

'She opened the door for Irish artists in England. She opened the door and put Ireland on the map. She became a politician because of it. She became a TV presenter because of it.

Dana performing on the Eurovision stage.

“She's just at a loss as to why they wouldn't even contact her. Even if they were to contact and say: 'We're doing this but there is no room for you...' But they never even contacted her.

“It is astonishing. With all respect to the other winners, they haven't had the life that she has had because of Eurovision. It's a strange one.

“She is still working 50 years later. She is busy writing. She had a record deal last year and that was an album recorded 50 years after Eurovision.”

Asked about Dana's omission from the Eurovision concert night, a spokesperson for the RTÉ Concert Orchestra said: “This concert is still being produced at this point.”