They’re a trio of siblings that hail from the same neighbourhood as the Queen of England. But according to reports, The Rua are keen to represent Ireland at Eurovision… just like their aunt Dana Rosemary Scallon.
The Rua for Ireland at Eurovision 2020?
The Irish Sun writes that The Rua are tipped to represent Ireland at Eurovision 2020. Apparently, they submitted an entry to RTÉ and left TV bosses impressed. And it’s not just their musical prowess that’s generating buzz. Their lineage seems to be leaving the delegation starry-eyed.
An unidentified source opines: “There’s every chance that Ireland could top the juries in Holland again on the anniversary of Dana’s first win there for Ireland. There would be a huge media interest in Dana’s nephews and nieces taking her place exactly 50 years later and representing Ireland at Eurovision.”
However, the Irish submission window only closed on Friday 25 October. So any talk of seeing the band in Rotterdam is merely speculation at this stage. Nonetheless, the tabloid claims that the final decision will be made within the next ten days.
If that’s true, it would mean Ireland is operating on an accelerated timeline compared to previous years. Both Sarah McTernan (2019) and Ryan O’Shaughnessy (2018) were selected in the early new year, after their entries had been assessed by expert panels
Who are The Rua?
Roseanna, Alanna and Jonathan Brown are the family trio that makes up The Rua. “Rua” is the Irish for red, which is presumably a nod to their flaming auburn locks.
The country-pop outfit has been active since 2011 and cite Taylor Swift, The Corrs and U2 among their influences. They’ve yet to break into the mainstream but have made appearances on the Billboard Adult and Dance Club charts in the US.
“Fight For What’s Right” is their most-streamed song on both YouTube and Spotify. Most recently, they supported the newly reformed Westlife on their UK tour.
They grew up in the English town of Windsor, but their roots lie in Ireland. Their aunt is Dana Rosemary Scallon — Ireland’s first-ever Eurovision winner. She won in 1970 with “All Kinds Of Everything”.
Speaking to The Irish Times, the band says that Dana “has always been very supportive and if we have any questions we go to her.”
Who else could represent Ireland at Eurovision 2020?
Thus far, two other known names have come out and expressed an interest in representing Ireland in Rotterdam.
The first is Alessia Macari, an Irish born star of Italian reality TV. She’s appeared on Your Face Sounds Familiar and won Celebrity Big Brother. Outside of television, Macari has released a handful of singles independently. Speaking to The Sunday World, she said: “A lot of people are linking me to [Eurovision] and it’s something I’d love to do”. We don’t know if she made good on her words and submitted an entry.
One person who’s definitely sent in some songs is Aly Ryan. The German singer tried to sing for her own country in 2019, but “Wear My Love” only came fourth in the national final. Dissatisfied with the experience, she vowed not to go for Germany again. However, Ryan is keen to perform for the Emerald Isle… and Switzerland, San Marino, Austria and Estonia.
Would The Rua be a good choice for Ireland? Who would you send? Let us know in the comments.
I thought Aly Ryan would represent Ireland ……oh okay…..never mind…
For me, their songs don’t seem very impactful, a bit like with Blas Castro’s songs.
I see rumour-gate has begun, it was the same magazine that rumoured Niall Horan would represent them in Tel Aviv.
I think a wise choice would be LYRA or Dermot Kennedy!
Their songs were impactful enough to crack the us billboard top 50 🙂
Love Celtic stuff, I’d love see Irish send something Celtic again. And how weird is that I know Rua means Red in Gaelic because of Outlander?
I saw them during the Westlife tour earlier this year. They are talented, and the lead vocalist can sing really well. But, their songs aren’t very impactful. They kind of just last a few minuets. I can’t really remember any of their songs from the concert, but I do remember them introducing themselves. That’s not good when the 1 min intro is more memorable than your music.
They recently cracked US billboard top 50 so thats good enough for me
I want Janet Devlin instead
The thing is it’s hard to get excited over Celtic music these days. It’s been heard and done. It worked in the 90s when no one in Europe knew of it but its staple music now. Only Ed Sheeran made something different from it. If its used in a new different way it could work. Imagine a rock song with Celtic music in it.
I don’t have to imagine it. The Dropkick Murphys have done plenty of them.
I dig Fight for What’s Right, so if there’s any credibility to this rumour, it wouldn’t be a bad choice at all.
Don’t know if it’s true or not, but “Fight For What’s Right” already made me look for them in Spotify. Very interesting track.
If true, this is a huge step forward for Ireland. There a celtic/country/indie sound which I love. The main singer Alannah is incredible, reminds me of taylor swift before she went pop. Incase people are confused, the band is IRISH. they were born and raised in the uk but they are irish blood wise, their names are Roseanna, Alannah and Johnathan Brown, very irish sounding names. Their name ‘The Rua’ is an irish name that comes from a red haired king, which makes sense cause the main singer is red head. Hopefully this is true. Love their song ‘Without you’
I wouldn’t call Roseanna, Alannah or Jonathan very Irish-sounding names. They sound more American to me. There’s no such thing as Irish blood. They’re first generation British. That’s okay. They’re Irish enough!
Those are irish names I live and went to school in Irelalnd and a lot of people in my class had ‘Brown’ as their last name. They were born in Britain but they said in interviews their family is from ireland.
I would still say they sound more like American names. Niamh and Eimear (two good Eurovision names) are Irish names. Not Alannah.
Just because they are used by Americans does not mean they are any less Irish names. Your logic makes zero sense to me. These names are as common in Ireland as bread and have been used here for millenia. Before America as we know it was even created. Alannah even comes from an Irish word.
I’m saying they may be common in Ireland, but they are not specific to Ireland. They’re not Irish, although Irish people may have that name. People all over the world are called Alannah. Eimear and Niamh and Aoife and Úna and Roisín and Caitlín and Máire and Eibhlín and Seán and Ronán and Pádraig and Peadar and Fiachra…these are Irish names. That’s all I’m saying. I accept that The Rua have as much claim to Irishness as anybody else, but their names are not proof of that, as has been suggested here. I doubt that there were women called Roseanna… Read more »
Jonas you are delusional
Sure I am. You’re the one who thinks Jonathan is an Irish name, but sure. Have a nice weekend, Ani.
I’ve never heard of this group but I quite enjoy this, far more interesting than most of Ireland’s entries this decade (not hard). There’s soul, instruments and melancholy. If they do go then the link to Dan’s can be mentioned, but shouldn’t be too hyped/emphasized.
I think Ireland are going down an undiscovered artist/band route (Al la BBc Introducing), they could fit into that. But is there anymore word from The Heather’s? They were rumored
I dont think the heathers are rumoured. they were in 2018. This band is very similar genre wise.
Their Spotify bio says that they’re English and that they took rua from the Hebrew word for spirit…ruah . So ,um ,ya if that’s anything
Also says that they’re an indie rock band rather than country pop
Spotify actually says their genre is orchestral Celtic indie-rock influenced pop music. The Irish Times calls them country-pop. Let your ears decide.
One to note is that they have genuine Irish roots, even if they are from England.
no they are 100 percent irish they were born and raised in the uk like many irish. Their real names end with ‘Brown’ which is a common last name in ireland. The name Rua derives from the irish word for a red haired king.
They were born and raised in England. That makes them English. Their parents are Irish, so maybe they have dual citizenship.
Yes they are Both Irish and English.
If the name is Hebrew, Ireland should’ve snagged them for Tel Aviv!
I think the unidentified source is talking rubbish, that’s if they exist at all.
You dont know that at all. Let us be excited!
Why not. But if they will reunite Sex Pistols for Esc, it would be one of the biggest moments in Esc history. Their frontman almost represent Ireland in 2018.
They were never going to reunite the Sex Pistols (kind of impossible, given Sid Vicious’ ongoing deadness, but it would be a nice full circle thing since they were just as manufactured as any pop group, great though they may have been). The rumor said it’d be Johnny Rotten’s other group, Public Image Ltd.
I definitely wouldn’t be against it if the song is any good.