Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest | |
---|---|
Participating broadcaster | Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) |
Participation summary | |
Appearances | 56 (45 finals) |
First appearance | 1965 |
Highest placement | 1st: 1970, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996 |
Host | 1971, 1981, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 |
External links | |
RTÉ page | |
Ireland's page at Eurovision.tv | |
For the most recent participation see Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 |
Ireland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 56 times since making its debut at the 1965 contest in Naples, missing only two contests since, in 1983 and 2002. The contest's final is broadcast in Ireland on RTÉ One. Ireland shares a joint record total of seven wins with Sweden, and is the only country to have won three times consecutively. Ireland has finished second four times, while Sweden has done that just once. However, all of Ireland's victories were decided by juries only, in the era before public voting became the norm in 1998.
Ireland's seven wins were achieved by the following artists: Dana with "All Kinds of Everything" (1970), Johnny Logan with "What's Another Year?" (1980) and "Hold Me Now" (1987), Linda Martin with "Why Me?" (1992), Niamh Kavanagh with "In Your Eyes" (1993), Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan with "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" (1994) and Eimear Quinn with "The Voice" (1996). Johnny Logan also wrote the 1992 winning entry. Ireland, who also finished second with Sean Dunphy (1967), Linda Martin (1984), Liam Reilly (1990) and Marc Roberts (1997), has a total of 18 top five results.
Since the introduction of the qualifying round in 1994, Ireland has won the contest twice. Since the introduction of semi-finals in 2004, Ireland has failed to reach the final 11 times, and has twice finished last in the final, in 2007 and 2013. Ireland's only top 10 result in the last 16 contests (2007–23) is Jedward's eighth-place in 2011.
History
Ireland has sent 50 entries to the Eurovision Song Contest; of these, seven have won and eighteen have finished in the top five, making Ireland the most successful country in the contest overall as of 2021. Since its debut in
Johnny Logan brought Ireland its second victory in 1980 with "What's Another Year?". Girl group Sheeba then finished fifth in 1981. Logan went on to write the 1984 entry "Terminal 3", performed by Linda Martin, which finished second. In 1987, Logan returned to the contest as a performer, and became the first entrant to win the contest twice, achieving his second victory with the self-penned "Hold Me Now".
Ireland's most successful decade to date is the 1990s, beginning with
In the 21st century, Ireland has fared less well, achieving considerably poorer results in comparison to the 1990s. The country's only top 10 placement of the 2000s came when
In
In 2018, Ireland qualified for the final for the first time since 2013 with Ryan O'Shaughnessy and "Together", but four more non-qualifications followed in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Seven singers have represented Ireland more than once at the contest: Johnny Logan (1980, 1987), Linda Martin (1984, 1992), Niamh Kavanagh (1993, 2010), Tommy and Jimmy Swarbrigg (as "The Swarbriggs" in 1975 and part of "The Swarbriggs Plus Two" in 1977), Maxi (as a soloist in 1973 and as part of Sheeba in 1981) and Jedward in 2011 and 2012.
Eight people have written and composed more than one Irish entry: Brendan Graham (1976, 1985, 1994, 1996), Johnny Logan (1984, 1987, 1992), Jonas Gladnikoff (2009, 2010, 2014), Tommy and Jimmy Swarbrigg (1975, 1977), Liam Reilly (1990, 1991), Joe Burkett (composer 1972, lyricist 1981), Niall Mooney (2009, 2010) and Jörgen Elofsson (2017, 2023).[4]
In the years when the live orchestra was present in the contest, almost all of Ireland's Eurovision entries were conducted by Noel Kelehan. The exceptions were 1965 (Italian host conductor Gianni Ferrio), 1970 (Dutch host conductor Dolf van der Linden), from 1972 to 1975 (Colman Pearce), 1979 (Proinnsias Ó Duinn), 1994 (no conductor, although Kelehan conducted three other entries from Romania, Greece and Poland) and in 1997 (Frank McNamara was the musical director for the contest staged in Dublin, but the Irish entry was played with a backing track with no orchestra).
Ronan Keating (who presented the 1997 contest) collaborated on the 2009 entry for Denmark.[5]
RTÉ presenter Marty Whelan has been the national commentator since 2000.[6]
Records
Ireland holds the record for the most victories (joint with Sweden): seven wins including three consecutive wins. The country has also achieved second place four times and third once.
Ireland is one of the few countries to have achieved consecutive wins (along with Spain, Luxembourg and Israel) and the only country to win consecutively three times, and the nation won again in 1996, thereby accumulating four victories in five years.
Ireland is the only country to host the contest consecutively and is one of eight countries never to turn down the chance to host the event.
Out of 55 appearances and 45 finals, Ireland has reached the top ten 31 times and the top five 18 times. As of 2023, Ireland has not reached the top five since 1997.
Ireland holds the record for most points from one country in a year (alongside France) in the 'one point per juror' voting system, achieving nine votes out of a possible ten from Belgium (in 1970). France had achieved this same feat in 1958.
Ireland has an average of 74 points per contest, the highest average, two points above the United Kingdom.
During the first semi-final of the 2014 contest, it was revealed that the duo Jedward hold two Eurovision records: the highest hair (18.9 cm) and the biggest shoulder pads.
Participation overview
1 | First place |
2 | Second place |
3 | Third place |
◁ | Last place |
X | Entry selected but did not compete |
† | Upcoming event |
Year | Artist | Song | Language | Final | Points | Semi | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1965 | Butch Moore | " I'm Walking the Streets in the Rain "
|
English | 6 | 11 | No semi-finals | |
1966 | Dickie Rock | " Come Back to Stay "
|
English | 4 | 14 | ||
1967 | Sean Dunphy | " If I Could Choose "
|
English | 2 | 22 | ||
1968 | Pat McGeegan | " Chance of a Lifetime "
|
English | 4 | 18 | ||
1969 | Muriel Day | " The Wages of Love "
|
English | 7 | 10 | ||
1970 | Dana | "All Kinds of Everything" | English | 1 | 32 | ||
1971 | Angela Farrell | " One Day Love "
|
English | 11 | 79 | ||
1972 | Sandie Jones | " Ceol an Ghrá "
|
Irish | 15 | 72 | ||
1973 | Maxi | " Do I Dream ?"
|
English | 10 | 80 | ||
1974 | Tina Reynolds | " Cross Your Heart "
|
English | 7 | 11 | ||
1975 | The Swarbriggs | " That's What Friends Are For "
|
English | 9 | 68 | ||
1976 | Red Hurley | " When ?"
|
English | 10 | 54 | ||
1977 | The Swarbriggs Plus Two | " It's Nice to Be in Love Again "
|
English | 3 | 119 | ||
1978 | Colm C. T. Wilkinson | " Born to Sing "
|
English | 5 | 86 | ||
1979 | Cathal Dunne | " Happy Man "
|
English | 5 | 80 | ||
1980 | Johnny Logan | "What's Another Year?" | English | 1 | 143 | ||
1981 | Sheeba | " Horoscopes "
|
English | 5 | 105 | ||
1982 | The Duskeys | " Here Today, Gone Tomorrow "
|
English | 11 | 49 | ||
1984 | Linda Martin | "Terminal 3" | English | 2 | 137 | ||
1985 | Maria Christian | " Wait Until the Weekend Comes "
|
English | 6 | 91 | ||
1986 | Luv Bug | " You Can Count On Me "
|
English | 4 | 96 | ||
1987 | Johnny Logan | "Hold Me Now" | English | 1 | 172 | ||
1988 | Jump the Gun | " Take Him Home "
|
English | 8 | 79 | ||
1989 | Kiev Connolly and the Missing Passengers | " The Real Me "
|
English | 18 | 21 | ||
1990 | Liam Reilly | " Somewhere in Europe "
|
English | 2 | 132 | ||
1991 | Kim Jackson | " Could It Be That I'm in Love ?"
|
English | 10 | 47 | ||
1992 | Linda Martin | "Why Me?" | English | 1 | 155 | ||
1993 | Niamh Kavanagh | "In Your Eyes" | English | 1 | 187 | Kvalifikacija za Millstreet | |
1994 | Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan | "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" | English | 1 | 226 | No semi-finals | |
1995 | Eddie Friel | " Dreamin' "
|
English | 14 | 44 | ||
1996 | Eimear Quinn | "The Voice" | English | 1 | 162 | 2 | 198 |
1997 | Marc Roberts | " Mysterious Woman "
|
English | 2 | 157 | No semi-finals | |
1998 | Dawn Martin | " Is Always Over Now ?"
|
English | 9 | 64 | ||
1999 | The Mullans | " When You Need Me "
|
English | 17 | 18 | ||
2000 | Eamonn Toal | " Millennium of Love "
|
English | 6 | 92 | ||
2001 | Gary O'Shaughnessy | " Without Your Love "
|
English | 21 | 6 | ||
2003 | Mickey Harte | " We've Got the World "
|
English | 11 | 53 | ||
2004 | Chris Doran | " If My World Stopped Turning "
|
English | 22 | 7 | Top 11 in 2003 contest[a] | |
2005 | Donna and Joe | " Love? "
|
English | Failed to qualify | 14 | 53 | |
2006 | Brian Kennedy | "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" | English | 10 | 93 | 9 | 79 |
2007 | Dervish | " They Can't Stop the Spring "
|
English | 24 ◁ | 5 | Top 10 in 2006 final[a] | |
2008 | Dustin the Turkey | "Irelande Douze Pointe" | English | Failed to qualify | 15 | 22 | |
2009 | Sinéad Mulvey and Black Daisy | " Et Cetera "
|
English | 11 | 52 | ||
2010 | Niamh Kavanagh | " It's for You "
|
English | 23 | 25 | 9 | 67 |
2011 | Jedward | "Lipstick" | English | 8 | 119 | 8 | 68 |
2012 | Jedward | "Waterline" | English | 19 | 46 | 6 | 92 |
2013 | Ryan Dolan | "Only Love Survives" | English | 26 ◁ | 5 | 8 | 54 |
2014 | Can-linn feat. Kasey Smith | " Heartbeat "
|
English | Failed to qualify | 12 | 35 | |
2015 | Molly Sterling | "Playing with Numbers" | English | 12 | 35 | ||
2016 | Nicky Byrne | "Sunlight" | English | 15 | 46 | ||
2017 | Brendan Murray | " Dying to Try "
|
English | 13 | 86 | ||
2018 | Ryan O'Shaughnessy | "Together" | English | 16 | 136 | 6 | 179 |
2019 | Sarah McTernan | "22" | English | Failed to qualify | 18 ◁ | 16 | |
2020 | Lesley Roy | "Story of My Life" | English | Contest cancelled[b] X | |||
2021 | Lesley Roy | "Maps" | English | Failed to qualify | 16 ◁ | 20 | |
2022 | Brooke | "That's Rich" | English | 15 | 47 | ||
2023 | Wild Youth | "We Are One" | English | 12 | 10 | ||
2024 | Bambie Thug | "Doomsday Blue" | English | Upcoming † |
Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
Ireland was one of two countries to have two entries entered into Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, with the 1980 entry "What's Another Year?" and the 1987 "Hold Me Now". Co-host of the 1997 contest Ronan Keating appeared. Johnny Logan performed his single "When a Woman Loved a Man". Irish winners Eimear Quinn, Charlie McGettigan and Linda Martin performed as backing singers to most of the songs with Jakob Sveistrup who represented Denmark in 2005. Marty Whelan provided commentary of the contest for Ireland on RTÉ.
Artist | Song | Language | At Congratulations | At Eurovision | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Final | Points | Semi | Points | Year | Place | Points | |||
Johnny Logan | "What's Another Year?" | English | Failed to qualify | 12 | 74 | 1980 | 1 | 143 | |
Johnny Logan | "Hold Me Now" | English | 3 | 262 | 3 | 182 | 1987 | 1 | 172 |
Hostings
Ireland is the only country to have hosted multiple contests in succession; three in a row between 1993 and 1995. Six of the seven contests held in Ireland have been held in
Year | Location | Venue | Executive producer | Director | Musical director | Presenter(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1971 | Dublin | Gaiety Theatre | — | Tom McGrath | Colman Pearce | Bernadette Ní Ghallchóir | [7] |
1981 | RDS Simmonscourt
|
Noel D. Greene | Ian McGarry | Noel Kelehan | Doireann Ní Bhriain | [8] | |
1988 | Liam Miller | Declan Lowney | Michelle Rocca and Pat Kenny | [9] | |||
1993 | Millstreet | Green Glens Arena | Anita Notaro | Fionnuala Sweeney | [10] | ||
1994 | Dublin | Point Theatre | Moya Doherty | Patrick Cowap | Cynthia Ní Mhurchú and Gerry Ryan | [11] | |
1995 | John McHugh | John Comiskey | Mary Kennedy | [12] | |||
1997 | Noel Curran | Ian McGarry | Frank McNamara | Carrie Crowley and Ronan Keating | [13] |
Awards
Marcel Bezençon Awards
Year | Category | Performer | Song | Final | Points | Host city | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | Artistic Award[c] | Jedward | "Lipstick" | 8 | 119 | Düsseldorf |
Related involvement
Conductors
Year | Conductor[d] | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
1965 | Gianni Ferrio | Host conductor[e] | [15] |
1966 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1967 | |||
1968 | |||
1969 | |||
1970 | Dolf van der Linden | Host conductor[f] | [16] |
1971 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1972 | Colman Pearce | ||
1973 | |||
1974 | |||
1975 | |||
1976 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1977 | |||
1978 | |||
1979 | Pronnsías Ó Duinn | [g] | |
1980 | Noel Kelehan | [17] | |
1981 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1982 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1984 | |||
1985 | |||
1986 | |||
1987 | |||
1988 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1989 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1990 | |||
1991 | |||
1992 | |||
1993 | Noel Kelehan | [h] | |
1994 | No conductor | [i] | |
1995 | Noel Kelehan | [j] | |
1996 | Noel Kelehan | ||
1997 | No conductor | [k] | |
1998 | Noel Kelehan | [l] |
Heads of delegation
Year | Head of delegation | Ref. |
---|---|---|
2008 | Michael Kealy | |
2009–2012 | Julian Vignoles | |
2013–present | Michael Kealy |
Commentators and spokespersons
Over the years RTÉ commentary has been provided by several experienced radio and television presenters, including Larry Gogan, Jimmy Greeley, Gay Byrne, Ronan Collins, Pat Kenny and Mike Murphy. Marty Whelan has provided the RTÉ television commentary since 2000, although Whelan himself had previously commentated for the 1987 event. Ireland did not participate in the 1983 edition in Germany, nor did they send a commentator to Munich that year, but instead broadcast the BBC feed of the contest with Terry Wogan as commentator, who welcomed viewers in Ireland during his introduction. RTÉ Radio, however, did provide commentary by Brendan Balfe.
Gallery
-
Butch Moore in Naples (1965)
-
Dana in Amsterdam (1970)
-
Red Hurley in The Hague (1976)
-
Johnny Logan in The Hague (1980)
-
Dustin the Turkey in Belgrade (2008)
-
Niamh Kavanagh in Oslo (2010)
-
Ryan Dolan in Malmö (2013)
-
Kasey Smith in Copenhagen (2014)
-
Molly Sterling in Vienna (2015)
-
Nicky Byrne in Stockholm (2016)
-
Brendan Murray in Kyiv (2017)
-
Ryan O'Shaughnessy in Lisbon (2018)
-
Sarah McTernan in Tel Aviv (2019)
-
Lesley Roy in Rotterdam (2021)
-
Wild Youth in Liverpool (2023)
See also
- Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest – Junior version of the Eurovision Song Contest.
- Ireland in the Eurovision Young Dancers– A competition organised by the EBU for younger dancers aged between 16 and 21.
- Ireland in the Eurovision Young Musicians – A competition organised by the EBU for musicians aged 18 years and younger.
Notes
- ^ Big Fourcountries from the previous year along with the Big Four automatically qualified for the Grand Final without having to compete in semi-finals. For example, if Germany and France placed inside the top ten, the 11th and 12th spots were advanced to next year's Grand Final along with all countries ranked in the top ten.
- ^ The 2020 contest was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- ^ Voted by commentators.
- ^ All conductors are of Irish nationality unless otherwise noted.
- ^ Conducted by Noel Kelehan at the national final.
- ^ Conducted by Noel Kelehan at the national final.
- ^ Conducted by Noel Kelehan at the national final.
- ^ Kelehan also conducted the Bosnian entry.
- ^ Irish commentator Pat Kenny and British commentator Terry Wogan both erroneously credit Kelehan as the conductor of the Irish entry. The song was performed without orchestral accompaniment. Kelehan did, however, conduct the Greek, Polish, and Romanian entries.
- ^ Kelehan also conducted the Polish entry. The interval act, "Lumen," was conducted by Proinnsías Ó Duinn.
- ^ That year's Irish national final was presented with a smaller band.
- ^ That year's Irish national final was presented without an orchestra.
References
- ^ RTÉ:Eurovision. RTÉ.ie. Retrieved on 5 September 2007.
- ^ Millstreet. Cork-Guide.ie. Retrieved on 5 September 2007.
- ^ "Ireland dumped out of Eurovision". BBC. 2009-05-15. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
- ^ Diggiloo Thrush - Ireland
- ^ #2 BBC
- ^ "Marty and the 'cool' Irish". Irish Independent. 2006-05-23. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- ^ "Dublin 1971". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Dublin 1981". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Dublin 1988". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Millstreet 1993". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Dublin 1994". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Dublin 1995". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Dublin 1997". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Retrieved 29 December 2023.
- ^ "Winners of the Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. 16 May 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ISBN 978-1-84583-065-6.
- ISBN 978-1-84583-093-9.
- ISBN 978-1-84583-118-9.
- ^ a b Lucas, John (2016-04-12). "The HoD Spotlight: In Conversation with Ireland's Michael Kealy". ESCInsight. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ a b Padraig, Mulligan (2018-03-19). "Interview: Ireland's Head of Delegation hopes to keep new selection process and has no plans to quit". Wiwibloggs. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ "Et Cetera - new key to success for Ireland?". eurovision.tv. EBU. 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ "Eurovision Ireland Meets Julian Vignoles (Head of Delegation) – We Talk Eurovision and Jedward". Eurovision Ireland. 2012-05-03. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
- ^ "To-Day's TV Programmes". The Irish Times. 23 March 1963. p. 6. Retrieved 19 December 2022. (subscription required)
- ^ "To-Day's TV Programmes". The Irish Times. 21 March 1964. p. 8. Retrieved 19 December 2022. (subscription required)
- ^ "RTÉ Archives". Stills Library. Retrieved 2021-06-05.
- ^ "Lesley Roy in flag-flying form ahead of Eurovision semi-final tonight". 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-18.
- ^ "Brooke Scullion takes off for Turin and the Eurovision". rte.ie. RTÉ. 2022-05-02. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
- ^ Mulgrew, Seoirse (3 May 2022). "Eurovision 2022: When is it on, where can I watch it and everything you need to know about Ireland". Independent.ie. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ Grace, Emily (2022-05-07). "🇮🇪 Ireland: Marty Whelan To Commentate On Eurovision 2022". Eurovoix. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
- ^ Mallon, Sandra (2022-05-05). "Eurovision legend Linda Martin sends message to Irish hopeful Brooke Scullion". Irish Mirror. Retrieved 2022-05-06.
- ^ Byrne, John (2023-02-03). "Tubs talks Eurovision: 'I think we could win this one'". RTÉ.
External links
- Ireland Eurovision fan website escireland.com
- Points to and from Ireland eurovisioncovers.co.uk