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theatre where "A Song for
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Despite their dismal performance with what must have been an out-of-tune guitar (Dougal was seen making random adjustments to the tuning before they went on stage), and against the obvious wishes of the audience, the show's producer
Charles Hedges selected "My Lovely Horse" as Ireland's entry. He
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during the 1990s. The plot featured Ted and Dougal trying to write a song for the contest (its name was not mentioned) to settle a rivalry with Father Dick Byrne. The pair tried unsuccessfully to write their own song before deciding to use an old song they thought no-one would remember. This plan
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discovered that his nemesis Father Dick Byrne planned to enter a song. Ted decided that if Byrne could write a song, he and Dougal could write a better one. After working all night, they came up with "My Lovely Horse", a tuneless dirge with ridiculous lyrics lasting less than a minute. When they
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tried the song out on Mrs Doyle and Father Jack, Jack was so enraged that he blasted Ted's guitar with a shotgun. Disillusioned, they were about to give up when Ted discovered that their lyrics fitted a tune by "Nin Huugen and the Huugen Notes", an obscure
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laughed off Byrne's suggestion that he wanted to make sure that
Ireland would lose the main competition, it being too expensive to keep hosting the competition every year after Ireland had won the previous five contests. (Ireland won the real
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tune first being whistled by a maintenance worker, then played in a lift. He was horrified, realising that the song was better known than he thought. He and Dougal were forced to adopt "Plan B" and perform their own composition.
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in 1976. Ted thought that because the whole band had died in a plane crash, including all the record company staff and everyone involved in the copyright, they would get away with stealing it.
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Ted mentions that there was a priest named Father Benny Cake who scored a Number 1 hit single in
England – after changing his name so nobody would know he was a priest – with a song titled "
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in 1992, 1993 and 1994, and had the costly obligation of hosting it in 1993, 1994 and 1995.) The episode closed at the
Eurosong contest, with Ted, Dougal,
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The tragic story of Nin Huugen and the Huugen Notes' deaths in a plane crash could be a reference to similar events with past musician artists such as "
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The climax of the clip features the sudden appearance of the horse's head to the cacophonous wail of a saxophone, surrounded by a typically 1970s-
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and the 11th episode overall. It originally aired on 5 April 1996 and has since been recognised as one of the most popular episodes of the show.
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826:(aka Paul Wonderful), a comedian friend of Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews. Their songs are traditional Irish ballads with republican lyrics.
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to secure the country's fourth victory in five years. The
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backfired and they had to perform their original brief and tuneless song, but they still won the Irish selection contest.
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fever" weeks ahead of the competition. After initially rejecting Dougal's suggestion that they write a song to represent
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When Ted and Dougal demonstrated the finished song to Jack and Mrs Doyle, Ted played two chords on the guitar in the
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According to the writer's commentary, the video for "My Lovely Horse" was based on a 1975 lifestyle video for "
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The scene in which Ted loses his temper at Dougal's failure to play the correct note is a reference to "
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Petition to make Father Ted's 'My Lovely Horse' Ireland's
Eurovision song turned down | The Independent
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Father Ted and Father Dougal perform 'My Lovely Horse' for Eurosong [2:14]
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TV News | 15 of our favourite 'Father Ted' episodes - entertainment.ie
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In May 2014 a petition to make "My Lovely Horse" Ireland’s entry for
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The outdoor sequences were shot in the grounds of the Falls Hotel in
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was formally submitted to the government, but was rejected by the
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album and released on CD as a B-side to the band's 1999 single "
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A month after this episode was first broadcast, Ireland won the
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815:"The Drums of Africa Are Calling Me Home" by Sean O'Brien
809:"If I Could Wear My Hat Like My Heart" by The Grand Girls
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any relevant information into other sections or articles.
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any relevant information into other sections or articles.
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The episode was based on Ireland's winning streak in the
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Worst Eurovision Winners Ever | The Eurovision Times
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were said to have chosen an inferior quality song (
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415:listening to every country awarding them "
383:of an entry from the fifth-placed act in
106:Learn how and when to remove this message
1196:Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading
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715:) and the loss of multiple members of
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431:. Most of the song was performed on a
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435:chord, which alternated briefly with
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55:"A Song for Europe" Father Ted
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936:"The price of Eurovision victory"
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639:list of miscellaneous information
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1372:Eurovision Song Contest 1996
1108:The Passion of Saint Tibulus
613:1988 Eurovision Song Contest
551:1975 Eurovision Song Contest
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485:1996 Eurovision Song Contest
462:1994 Eurovision Song Contest
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543:That's What Friends are For
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636:This section contains a
495:The song was written by
750:A Song for Ireland 1996
405:Eurovision Song Contest
362:The episode began with
351:Eurovision Song Contest
260:as Father Cyril MacDuff
1168:Old Grey Whistle Theft
1154:Think Fast, Father Ted
701:The Day the Music Died
296:Old Grey Whistle Theft
229:5 April 1996
1323:Father Dougal McGuire
1122:And God Created Woman
1094:Good Luck, Father Ted
849:petitions committee.
686:Scoopy Scoopy Dog Dog
583:was intended to play
579:can clearly be seen.
511:. It was produced by
389:Eurosong preselection
605:, who directed most
519:during sessions for
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254:as Father Dick Byrne
40:improve this article
1377:Father Ted episodes
1274:Escape from Victory
1012:"A Song for Europe"
619:Cultural references
1210:Flight Into Terror
478:Rock 'n' Roll Kids
474:Charlie McGettigan
280:Episode chronology
252:Maurice O'Donoghue
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1161:Tentacles of Doom
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38:Please help
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158:Directed by
1361:Categories
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1069:Father Ted
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853:References
847:Oireachtas
675:Father Ted
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577:Ennistymon
565:Ennistymon
417:nul points
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673:. In the
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1344:Ted Fest
1332:See also
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1086:Series 1
1078:Episodes
940:BBC News
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899:30 March
805:(winner)
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742:'s "
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476:'s "
411:and
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302:Next
59:news
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