{"id":336070,"date":"2026-03-09T00:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/336070\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T00:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T00:15:08","slug":"a-ludicrous-decision-hits-the-contests-credibility-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/336070\/","title":{"rendered":"A ludicrous decision hits the contest\u2019s credibility \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The lunatics have taken over. That\u2019s right \u2013 the Irish public has voted Traitor<\/a> Paudie Moloney<\/a> into the final of Dancing with the Stars<\/a> (RT\u00c9 <\/a>One, 6.30 pm) at the expense of series-long frontrunner Jordan Dargan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The decision is as ludicrous as it is predictable. Since the latest season of RT\u00c9\u2019s new-year blockbuster kicked off in January, Paudie has had an open-ended get-out-of-jail-free card.<\/p>\n

This could initially be put down to the fact the 68-year-old former prison guard is genuinely likable and embodies the archetype of the lovably crotchety Irish dad\/granddad \u2013 he seems like someone we all know from our day-to-day life. But the joking has to stop at some point and it is harmful to the credibility of the competition \u2013 and unfair on Paudie \u2013 to keep voting him through when more deserving celebs fall by the wayside.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they asked me to come to Ireland to judge Dancing with the Stars, I thought I knew what I was stepping into,\u201d says head judge and former Strictly Come Dancing winner Oti Mabuse after Paudie\u2019s surreal samba to Gangnam Style. \u201cI never thought I\u2019d see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JordanJordan Dargan and Rebecca Scott after they were voted out. Photograph: Kyran O\u2019Brien\/kobpix <\/p>\n

She says this with a stunned smile. It is much the same expression as that worn by the unfortunate Dargan, who loses a dance-off against Tol\u00fc Makay<\/a> \u2013 another high achiever who has been relegated to the show\u2019s battle to the death over multiple weeks by viewers. It\u2019s like that moment at a public event where some idiot starts a chant of \u201cOl\u00e9, ol\u00e9, ol\u00e9\u201d and everyone else joins in. As a nation, we need help.<\/p>\n

\"JordanJordan Dargan and Tol\u00fc Makay faced off in the semi-final dance-off, with Makay going through. Photograph: Kyran O\u2019Brien \/kobpix<\/p>\n

With Apprentice contestant Dargan fired \u2013 along with pro partner Rebecca Scott \u2013 the line-up for the final has now been decided. Up against Paudie and Laura Nolan will be Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini who scored a perfect 40 with their opening semi-final charleston and received a series-first standing ovation from judge Brian Redmond. They will be joined the relieved and emotional Makay and dance partner Maciej Zi\u0119ba, as well as influencer Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro, who clocked up a near-perfect combined score of 79.<\/p>\n

\"FileFile photograph: Paudie Moloney with Laura Nolan
\nduring RTE\u2019s Dancing With The Stars in
\nJanuary. Photograph: Kyran O\u2019Brien \/kobpix <\/p>\n

Who will claim the spoils? The last three champions have been men, and it would be nice for a woman to win. But if wishes were horses, then Jordan Dargan would not have been in the high jump. As the dust settles and the confetti clears from the semi-final, we need to make peace with the fact that ousted Traitor Paudie could have the ultimate revenge and walk away with the Glitterball Trophy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The lunatics have taken over. That\u2019s right \u2013 the Irish public has voted Traitor Paudie Moloney into the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[134341,121739,121738,21183,93,61,60,113203,154461,134338,38852,98029,23875,62059,134339,134340],"class_list":{"0":"post-336070","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-anne-cassin","9":"tag-arthur-gourounlian","10":"tag-brian-redmond","11":"tag-dancing-with-the-stars","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-ie","14":"tag-ireland","15":"tag-jennifer-zamparelli","16":"tag-jordan-dargan","17":"tag-karen-byrne","18":"tag-laura-fox","19":"tag-niamh-kavanagh","20":"tag-oti-mabuse","21":"tag-paudie-moloney","22":"tag-philip-doyle","23":"tag-tolu-makay"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}