12 August 2004
Moldova and Romania weren’t among the ten countries who officially joined the EU in an outdoor ceremony on a warm, sunny Irish day in May 2004. Their respective candidate status and accession come a few years later. Still, there’s a nice serendipity to us also having that summer our first Irish number one from a Moldovan act and in the Romanian language. The 2004 EU expansion, and the freedom of movement it enabled, started a new chapter in the story of Ireland: so many of our friends, neighbours, partners, in-laws, colleagues and club mates have family heritage in the countries of eastern Europe, just as many more have a similar history from the countries of Asia, Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere. It’s just a pity that in June 2004, only a few weeks after that EU accession ceremony, a constitutional referendum was passed that removed the automatic right to Irish citizenship by birth in Ireland. Talk about mixed messages. Still, the main thing is we all agree that people coming to live or stay in Ireland is good for them and good for us.
Euro-disco bangers had been topping the Irish charts long before 2004, so the three Moldovan lads of O-Zone were already part of a historic European community. Euro-disco is also a story of dancefloor bops brought back to Ireland from Spanish holiday resorts, and ‘Dragostea Din Tei’ is classic summer holiday fare: euphoric beats, earworm choruses and an all-round party vibe. Plus, unlike most other 2004 Irish number ones it isn’t toxic in any sense of the word: the finest translators known to Google tell me that the title is Romanian for ‘Love From Under The Linden Tree’ and the rest of the lyrics pass the (fairly low) bar of not indulging in crass sexism or aggressive misogyny. Good times! Bun venit în Irlanda!
