No, not the supposedly politically-motivated nul points for the UK, the much more scandalous way that RTE ignored democracy and the popular vote in favour of their own autocratic ‘Star Chamber’ jury. Outrage! Boo!
‘Voters had a five-minute slot in which to register their selections after all of the songs had been performed. Because Ireland was third of the entries to disclose its voting, the phone lines could not be kept open for any longer than the five-minute slot. Eircom, which operated the phone lines, had agreed with RTE’ that it would collate all of the votes within nine to 10 minutes of lines closing. While the company fulfilled its obligation, RTE’ decided to use a jury verdict rather than phone votes. …
(My emphasis.) Hmm… methinks the journo doth protest too much.
Eircom said its decision not to charge voters for their calls was a goodwill gesture and should not be interpreted as an admission of failure on its part regarding its role in the voting. ‘The system and the technology on our part worked as it should have on the night,’ a spokeswoman said.’
Aaaaah. I get the picture.