Pictures: Eurovision euphoria engulfing Macroom as Bambie Thug gears up for final

EUROVISION euphoria has engulfed the town of Macroom.

Pupils in the two local schools attended by Ireland’s grand final hopeful, Bambie Thug, have been festooning their halls and windows with festive decorations in advance of tonight’s Town Square watch party, where they will be among the crowd cheering on the schools’ most famous past pupil as they sing for glory in Malmo, Sweden.

It’s a case of heartfelt wishes of the best of luck to self-proclaimed ‘witch’ Bambie, from Macroom to Malmo.

In St Mary’s Secondary School on the New Road, which was attended by Bambie Thug in the late noughties, the trans inclusive rainbow flag is unfurled on the flagpole and the windows are full of posters wishing Bambie the best of luck, or ‘go n-éirí libh!’

There’s a buzz in the corridors and around the grounds as the anticipation builds.

Around the corner in St Joseph’s Primary School, the yard is full of flag-waving pupils from sixth class to junior infants, many of them bearing their home-made posters and banners in support of their illustrious past pupil, now among the favourites to take the top prize in Malmo and earn Ireland an eighth Eurovision title.

The principal of St Mary’s Secondary School, Stephen McLaughlin, is delighted to see a past pupil doing so well and setting an example for others from the school.

“Such a talented performer, such a talented artist; it’s great for our students to see that out there, a past pupil of St Mary’s is out there representing their country in Eurovision,” he said.

“There’s great support there for Bambie on Saturday night and we’re going to have the big watch party and a lot of people are going to attend that, including a lot of students from here.

“Bambie Thug is shining as they represent Ireland and they have expressed pride in being from here and the girls are really responding to that,” he said, adding that the school was extending an open invitation for Bambie Thug to return to talk to the student body.

“I spoke yesterday to one of their teachers, who has retired now, and she had Bambie in class in third year and she asked the class what each student wanted to do when they finished up in school. When it came to Bambie’s turn to answer the question, they had a very simple answer: ‘I want to be famous’.

“I think Bambie’s probably nailed that one at this stage.”

Transition Year student Ella Healy has a special connection to Bambie and is the envy of many journalists, having secured an exclusive interview with the artist for the school newspaper, the St Mary’s Chronicle, a scoop which earned Ella one of the top awards in the recent Press Pass competition.

Ella, who hails from near Clondrohid, said she saw Bambie on the Late Late Show EuroSong Eurovision special and was really impressed with the performer’s look and sound.

“We saw Bambie and thought they looked amazing and I thought it was a great opportunity for an article for the Press Pass competition and for our newspaper, so I reached out to their PR person,” said Ella.

“They were really helpful and they sent back an A4 page worth of answers, they made a big massive effort and they were really detailed, so that’s how it came about,” said Ella.

Bambie Thug told Ella in the article that they had been particularly influenced by a number of teachers, including the music teacher of the time, Ms Behan, and by the sixth-year head when Bambie was doing the Leaving Cert, Gerard Healy. Mr Healy passed away during Bambie’s sixth year.

“I am always reminded of him when the sun is out. He would always tell us to ‘close our eyes and look up to the sun and smile’,” Bambie told Ella.

Music teacher Aoife Donovan was involved in the school choir when Bambie was at the school and recalled that their talent was really evident.

“They were immensely talented and loved performing and, in the choir, they contributed hugely to the choir’s win in an All Ireland Schools Choir competition when they were in fourth year,” said Ms Donovan.

“They were a really enthusiastic and committed and creative member of the choir.”

“They were always coming forth with ideas, extremely creative.”

Ms Donovan said that Bambie’s music teacher had made a massive contribution. “They had a lot of opportunities to perform and their talent was nurtured a lot in school, and we’re not surprised that they’ve gone on to international status as they were an extremely talented student.”

In St Joseph’s Primary School, which is just around the corner, principal Alice Clancy and her team of teachers were marshalling a huge gathering of schoolchildren in the yard. It was a sea of smiling faces, colourful Irish flags and hand drawn posters urging Europe to ‘Crown the Witch’.

Unlike St Mary’s, the principal and teachers all joined the staff after Bambie Thug left, but the past pupil is a favourite with the student body!

Sixth-class student Chloe Wang found Bambie Thug’s performance in the semi-final ‘really wonderful’. “I think they will do really well and they will win,” she told this reporter.

Within seconds, a host of sixth and fifth class students come forward with their opinions. “They’re in with a good chance,” said one. “They’re definitely going to be in the top five,” said another. “We love them no matter where they finish,” said a third pupil.

“It’s very good that they got the final,” said Bríd Ní Dhrísceoil. “Fair play for getting into the final.”

A group stood nearby with a banner full of information about the singer. “They probably have a really high chance of winning,” agree Clodagh, Grace, and Savannah.

And principal Clancy is delighted with the great spirit the performances of the school’s illustrious past pupil have fostered.

“Bambie portrays such imagination and vision and it’s great for the girls here to see that,” said Ms Clancy.

“It’s the whole show: Bambie has it all, the performance, the looks, the make-up.”

There are still students who want to offer their opinion. Emmanuela and Gabrielle have been waiting patiently. “Bambie Thug has a really good chance of winning, because their song is really unique and really good,” said Gabrielle.

According to Emmanuela, Bambie really stands out from the crowd.

“They’re different, they have their own way to express their feelings with their dancing and the other stuff they do: Being different is good, it’s unique.”

The feelgood fever generated by Bambie Thug’s performances on stage and off since qualifying for Eurovision, and getting through to the final, added to the sunshine and festive decorations, and has made Macroom the go-to destination for the coming weekend.

If the performer wins in Malmo, it will continue for some time to come!