Wicked Local
MANSFIELD – A group of volunteers at St Mary’s Church in Mansfield will offer opportunities to discuss and address racism in the coming year.
The Hope in the Face of Racism Committee is part of the Society of St. Vincent DePaul Conference at St. Mary’s. It began organizing last June after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin and in response other police violence against Black people, Committee member Lesley Roy said.
Keeping the conversation going
“We wanted to be intentional in talking about what was happening in the world,” said Roy, a Mansfield resident. “It’s hard to believe anybody would be able not to talk about what was going on.”
Will Ireland return to a national final for Eurovision 2022?
Kealy has stood by Ireland’s internal selection process on many occasions, citing various issues such as the difficulty in attracting quality acts, the cost of running a national final and the public’s tendency to vote for their local hometown entries. However, after a sixth non-qualification in seven attempts, he’s now singing a slightly different tune.
“I feel it’s time we reverted to giving the public their say in what we do but we must find an effective and cost effective way of doing that.”
Nonetheless, Michael quickly dampens expectations of a lavish national selection by highlighting RTÉ’s budgetary woes.
Ireland among worst performing countries at Eurovision the last decade
As well as holding the record for most Eurovision Song Contest victories, Ireland is simultaneously among the worst-performing countries of the last decade.
Ireland has won the international contest a whopping seven times overall, with the likes of Dana, Johnny Logan, Linda Martin and Niamh Kavanagh taking the prize home.
Although Latvia currently holds the record for most Semi Final eliminations in the last ten years, Ireland comes in a close second.
As well as holding the record for most Eurovision Song Contest victories, Ireland is simultaneously among the worst-performing countries of the last decade. Pic: Shutterstock (11908370dv)