‘Bambie Thug is my warrior alter ego’ – Ireland’s Eurovision hopeful on forging the unique identity that’s taken them from Macroom to Malmo

The team around them is “small but mighty”, Bambie (31) says with a smile, and includes one of their three sisters. It makes sense that they’d be close to their stylist: a head-turning look is a key part of Bambie Thug’s creative offering. Today, however, the dramatic make-up is not in sight. Instead, they sit leaning against a couch, hair in what looks like elaborate braids, wearing a dark, draped hoodie. Diminutive, with a sort of wry and at times droll delivery, Bambie Thug brings to mind an early Winona Ryder in the Tim Burton days or the British actress Andrea Riseborough. It is, as you might expect, a busy time. The competition begins with the first semi-final, in which Bambie will represent Ireland, on May 7. If successful, they’ll appear in the grand final on May 11. In the midst of the preparation for a performance that has catapulted their music onto a national scale, there has been public pressure from some corners to pull out from the competition due to the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) allowing Israel to participate when Russia was previously excluded after the invasion of Ukraine. Along with some of this year’s other Eurovision entrants, the artist had published a statement defending that decision.