Irish people talk much more than Finnish people, according to the Finnish ambassador, Dimo Jalkanen, who was at a party with his wife, Maija-Liisa, earlier this week to celebrate news of a twice-daily flight service from Dublin to Helsinki from the end of this month. The Irish and the Finns "get together very, very well," he says. "Both are very relaxed and informal people." The wine bar, Number Five at Merrion Court, is quickly packed to the gills for the party, with music provided by Brenda Bourke, a music teacher from Westport in Co Mayo, playing Eurovision hits on the piano. Eamonn Toal, winner of this year's national song contest, Eurosong 2000, is at the party also, looking more Nordic than the Finns themselves, with long, flowing, blond hair. One of the song's writers, Raymond Smyth, is singing his praises: "Very few male singers can reach the high registers on a sweet note," he says. More celebrating is called for when it's announced that the Irish Eurovision party will be ferried over to Stockholm (and back) by the official airline, Finnair, according to Tracy Brennan, the company's sales manager in Ireland.