‘It felt like the nation got behind us’
Ed, Conor, David and Callum who will represent Ireland at the Eurovision in Liverpool

‘It felt like the nation got behind us’

A POP band with members from Tallaght were selected on Friday night to represent Ireland at the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest after impressing both the judging panels and the public.

The four-piece band, Wild Youth, is composed of Callum McAdam from Jobstown, Ed Porter from Springfield, David Whelan, and Conor O’Donohue.

The group competed against other Eurovision hopefuls on a special edition of ‘The Late Late Show’ last Friday and wowed the audience with their energetic performance.

Wild Youth, who previously toured with the Script and Kodaline, performed their uplifting and anthemic song ‘We Are One’ and soared to the top of the leaderboard.

Drummer Callum McAdam, who is a past pupil of St Mark’s Community School, told The Echo on Wednesday morning about what the whirlwind win has been like for him and the band.

“There were so many different factors on the day,” he explained. “But being behind the drums is always my happy place – it’s the one place where reality can’t get me!

“It was the best feeling ever, and especially being there with my musical brothers and knowing all of the work that we’d put in to get to that point, and seeing the result was really gratifying.

“The result was so close, and all of the other acts were fantastic on the night.

“The competition was so high that none of us thought being selected was a sure thing.”

Guitarist Ed Porter said that the moment Wild Youth were announced as the winners was surreal, and the fact they will be representing Ireland at the Eurovision is still settling in for him.

“It was quite tense when we were in the green room,” he said. “When we found out we’d won, we were just on autopilot and I still haven’t fully digested the whole thing, to be honest.”

In the run-up to the ‘Late Late Show’ special, Wild Youth felt the support of their community, including articles in The Echo and a display in the centre mall in The Square Shopping Centre.

Callum said: “I want to say thank you to The Echo, to all of Tallaght, Clontarf, Raheny…all of the areas that we’re from.

“It felt like the nation got behind us, they wanted to send us to Eurovision and push us through.”

Wild Youth’s sights are now firmly set on the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals in Liverpool next May, with preparations now being in full swing.

Ed said: “To be picked to represent your country is an honour and a privilege. We’re just figuring out staging and trying to get all our ducks in a row and make sure everything is organised.

“We’re all very focused and ready to do what’s asked of us.”

Reflecting on the overall experience, Callum added: “You just have to hope that people believe in you, and you don’t force it on them – you hope they see in you, what you see in yourself.

“When the public voted for us and pushed us through – even people that we’d never met were at home and voted for us and took the time to help us reach our dream – we can never thank them enough.

“We want to make sure we put on the best show for everyone that has supported us.”

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