Republic of Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
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| Member station | RTÉ |
| National selection event(s) | The Late Late Show |
| Appearances | 40 |
| First appearance | 1965 |
| Best result | 1st, 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 |
| Worst result | 23rd in the final, 2004 |
Ireland made its debut in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965. Since then Ireland has won the ESC seven times making it more successful than any other entrant (nation).
Ireland broadcasts the show on RTÉ.
Contents |
[edit] All entries
[edit] = Winning Irish entries
Dana started the ball rolling for Ireland when she won the contest in 1970. Just 18 years-old and still at school she beat her more experienced rivals with a song that was soon to become a million-seller.
Then came Johnny Logan . This man was involved THREE times with a winning entry: once as a singer in 1980, then as a singer-songwriter in 1987, and then if that wasn't enough, he wrote the winning song for Linda Martin in 1992. No other artist has done the same thing, nor has any other performer won the contest twice. Brendan Graham also wrote two winning entries: those in 1994 and 1996.
| Year | Song | Performer | Article |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "All Kinds of Everything" | Dana | ESC 1970 |
| 1980 | "What's Another Year" | Johnny Logan | ESC 1980 |
| 1987 | "Hold Me Now" | Johnny Logan | ESC 1987 |
| 1992 | "Why Me" | Linda Martin | ESC 1992 |
| 1993 | "In Your Eyes" | Niamh Kavanagh | ESC 1993 |
| 1994 | "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" | Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan | ESC 1994 |
| 1996 | "The Voice" | Eimear Quinn | ESC 1996 |
[edit] Host
The first country to host the event twice in a row was Ireland which actually hosted the contest three times in a row, as they won the contest in 1992, 1993 and 1994 and hosted the event in 1993, 1994, and 1995. Ireland also holds the record for the most times hosting the contest as a winner, at seven (the UK has hosted the contest a record eight times, but four of these instances were when the national broadcaster due was unable to do so): six times in Dublin, and once in Millstreet, County Cork.
An interval Irish dancing show, Riverdance was commissioned for the 1994 contest. Music was composed by Bill Whelan and choreography was by Mavis Ascott, Michael Flatley (Irish Dance Step Choreography), Jean Butler (Female Solo Choreography). Bill Whelan had previouly composed music for "Timedance", the interval act from the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest. The music from "Riverdance" was released on CD single and went to No. 1 in the Irish singles charts, outselling "Rock 'n' roll kids" by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan, the winners of the contest. Later in 1994 an extended stage show opened in Dublin. The show became an international hit. In 1997 Ronan Keating not only hosted the show but performed the song 'Let the message run free' during the interval act, together with the other members of Boyzone.
[edit] Voting
Ireland benefits from neighbourly voting from UK, its only close neighbour. This has been especially evident since televoting began. Before the introduction of televoting, Irish juries tended to award United Kingdom more or less the same number of points as other countries did but United Kingdom juries were often more generous to Ireland. Since the advent of televoting both countries have given above average points to each other. Statistically, Ireland is the sixth best country at predicting a winner (behind Bulgaria, Serbia-Montenegro, Netherlands, Switzerland and Russia in that order), giving an average of 8.7 points to the winning country every year over its 23 appearances since the current voting methods were implemented.
[edit] Recent entries
Ireland suffered something of a fall from grace following its extraordinary run of placings in the mid-nineties (1st, 1st, 1st, 14th, 1st, 2nd), finishing 9th in 1998, and a record low 17th in 1999. There was a brief taste of success with a 6th placing in 2000, but in 2001 Ireland scored six points, finishing in 21st place. Due to relegation rules, Ireland missed the 2002 contest entirely, but returned in 2003 and Mickey Harte finished in joint 10th place. This result gained Ireland a placing directly into the 2004 final but the 2004 entry, ('If My World Stopped Turning' by Chris Doran), received its only vote of 7 points from the UK. Ireland was then relegated to the semi-final in 2005, and failed to qualify to that year's final, when Donna and Joseph McCaul sang "Love?". In 2006 "Every song is a cry for love" by Brian Kennedy came 9th in the semi-final and 10th in the final, ensuring direct qualification for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Helsinki, Finland, on May 12, 2007. The Irish entry for 2007 is``They Cant Stop The Spring`` written by John Waters and Tommy Moran and performed by Dervish.
[edit] Links
RTE (Ireland's national broadcaster) - www.rte.ie
Brian Kennedy's Official Homepage - www.briankennedy.co.uk
A History of Ireland's Eurovision performances and review of Brian's song - www.soult.com/eurovision/2006/ireland
[edit] Footnotes
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belarus · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czech Republic · Denmark · Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Latvia · Lebanon · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Republic of Macedonia · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Morocco · Netherlands · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · Russia · Serbia · Serbia and Montenegro · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Tunisia · Turkey · Ukraine · United Kingdom · Yugoslavia
