My son, a more avid watcher of television, was going around the house ‘they’re sending Dervish to the Eurovision for fecksake’ It’s true
Just imagine if they were full-time Dervs. 
djm
Funny how the Irish (who have won EuroVision more often than any other nation) pick the band first and then have hoi polloi vote on the song. I think other countries pick performer & song through a contest… I wonder if this will bring Dervish down or EuroVision up?
They’ve tried the contest thing and didn’t get any votes a few years in a row, they’re really desperate 
I only know Dervish by name to be honest although I saw them play ‘Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves’ on tv a while ago. I don’t think they could sink much lower than how they approached that one.
For those of us (like myself) unfamiliar.
They’ll have to be something pretty special to top last years winners (who I voted for).
Strange affair.
Dervish are a fine bunch of musicians, individually. The sum tends to get lost among the parts, most of the time.
Their singer is not to my taste, their interpretations of classic Bob Dylan songs leaves a lot, an awful lot, to be desired.
Like many of their generation, they have been heavily influenced by the Bothys and though they have the skill involved, they lack the understanding and the passion.
The Eurovision thing is hard to understand. It will be very interesting to see what they end up with, as regards the holli-polli, but I bet it will sound like Riverdance revisted.
Funny that, Riverdance began it’s lucrative and lenghty life as a Eurovision filler…something to amuse the viewers while the votes were being counted.
The Irish hate to win the contest because then they have to host the thing the following year and that costs a lot of money.
Another hike in the Television licence..he he he .
It’s a long way from "Snowdrops and daffodils… "
Slan,
D. 
Boy, I am torn when it comes to Dervish. On the one hand, they are a bit too goo-goo for me as well and I get sick of some of their signature tunes (like the Maid on the Shore or whatever). But Cathy Jordan is a great and unique singer. You kind of have to adjust to her voice and let her in, so to speak, then you can appreciate her ability. They play some in-concert cuts on LiveIreland and the level of excitement in the audience proves to me that they really touch people. I have been bored by acts I really liked on CDs but I think I would find them very exciting live.
I think their elaborate counter-melodies really rub against the grain of trad-lovers (a lot of scalar playing) but I have to say, they bring something interesting to the table with 'em and their individual musical abilities are unquestionable.
That is so true. I saw Dervish in Exeter a few years ago and they were electrifying, but their CDs? Nah! I love Altan’s CDs but they are ten times better live. Same with Patrick Street. And Christy Moore’s CDs are positively anodyne, as if he freezes in the studio, but you won’t see a better live act in a month of Sundays! Whenever any of these guys release a live CD you get a much better flavour of what they’re really like. Christy “Live at the Point” is a good example, though I believe it was cobbled together from Gawd knows how many different performances.
Dervish is certainly one of those “much better live” bands. Cathy
likes to discuss each song’s history before singing, which can be
pretty interesting. I missed them the last time they came through
here, but someone at session was talking about the concert, and
her favorite part was the lack of guitars. Apparantly they featured
4 Bazoukis instead…