Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Eurovision Song Contest 2007 | ||||
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Country | Ireland | |||
National selection | ||||
Selection process | Artist: Internal selection Song: Eurosong 2007 | |||
Selection date(s) | Artist: 14 November 2006 Song: 16 February 2007 | |||
Selected entrant | Dervish | |||
Selected song | "They Can't Stop the Spring" | |||
Selected songwriter(s) |
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Finals performance | ||||
Final result | 24th, 5 points | |||
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
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As one of the ten highest placed finishers in 2006, Ireland automatically qualified to compete in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007. Performing during the show in position 4, Ireland placed 24th (last) out of the 24 participating countries with 5 points.
Background
Prior to the 2007 Contest, Ireland had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 40 times since its first entry in 1965.[1] Ireland has won the contest a record seven times in total. The country's first win came in 1970, with then-18-year-old Dana winning with "All Kinds of Everything". Ireland holds the record for being the only country to win the contest three times in a row (in 1992, 1993 and 1994), as well as having the only three-time winner (Johnny Logan, who won in 1980 as a singer, 1987 as a singer-songwriter, and again in 1992 as a songwriter). The Irish entry in 2006, "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" performed by Brian Kennedy, managed to qualify to the final and placed tenth.
The Irish national broadcaster,
Before Eurovision
Artist selection
On 14 November 2006, the broadcaster announced that they had internally selected the band
Eurosong 2007
On 22 November 2006, RTÉ opened a submission period where composers were able to submit their songs for the competition until 8 January 2007. The broadcaster sought songs that fit the style of both Dervish and the contest.
Draw | Song | Songwriter(s) | Place |
---|---|---|---|
1 | "The Thought of You" | Matti Kallio | 4 |
2 | "Walk with Me" | Stig Lindell | 3 |
3 | "Until We Meet Again" | 2 | |
4 | "They Can't Stop the Spring" |
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1 |
At Eurovision
The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 took place at
In Ireland, the semi-final and the final were broadcast on RTÉ One with commentary by Marty Whelan. The two shows were also broadcast via radio on RTÉ Radio 1 with commentary by Larry Gogan.[17]
Final
Dervish took part in technical rehearsals on 7 and 8 May,[18] followed by dress rehearsals on 11 and 12 May. The Irish performance featured the lead singer of Dervish, Cathy Jordan, in a red and white dress playing the bodhrán. The remaining members of the group, dressed in plain black shirts with jeans, performed a routine which featured them following Jordan around the stage. The LED screens displayed large flowers in bloom against a starlit background and the stage catwalk displayed a floating Irish flag at the beginning of the performance.[19][20][21] Ireland placed twenty-fourth (last) in the final, scoring 5 points.[22]
Voting
Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding points from 1-8, 10 and 12 to the other competing countries; counties were not allowed to register votes for themselves. All countries participating in the contest were required to use televoting and/or SMS voting during both evenings of the contest. In the event of technical difficulties, or if the votes of the country did not meet the EBU threshold, then a back-up jury's results were to be used.[15] Ireland awarded its top 12 points from televoting to Latvia in the semi-final and to Lithuania in the final.[23][24] The nation received 5 points in the final—all from Albania—placing 24th (last).[24] The Irish spokesperson, who announced the Irish votes during the final, was former contest winner Linda Martin.[25] The tables below visualise a complete breakdown of points awarded to Ireland in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2007, as well as by the country in the semi-final and final.
Points awarded to Ireland
Score | Country |
---|---|
12 points | |
10 points | |
8 points | |
7 points | |
6 points | |
5 points | Albania |
4 points | |
3 points | |
2 points | |
1 point |
Points awarded by Ireland
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After Eurovision
Despite finishing in last place, the broadcast of the final was watched by 780,000 viewers in Ireland with a market share of 53%, representing an increase from the previous year.[26] Dervish announced that they would continue to play their music, stating that they "play music for music's sake" and that "it's about heart and soul, it's not about votes".[27] Claims of "vote hijacking" were also discussed after the nation awarded its 12 points to Lithuania despite getting little elsewhere.[26]
Criticism was also faced by RTÉ from Irish media, both over their selection of Dervish and the production of a forthcoming television special on the band, with claims that their performance was "disastrous" and that the broadcaster had signed a written contract with the band only after announcing their participation. In response, an RTÉ spokesperson stated that "contracts can be signed after such an announcement" as "you don't have to sign on the dotted line if you have a verbal agreement".[28] The broadcaster later stated that they would be "having a sit-down and looking at our geographical position and going through the whole process", thus indicating a possible withdrawal from the 2008 contest.[29] RTÉ confirmed their intentions to participate at the 2008 Eurovision Song Contest on 3 October 2007, announcing an open selection to choose both the artist and song to represent Ireland.[30][31]
References
- ^ "History by Country: Ireland". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
- ^ Staff. "RTÉ Television - Eurovision Song Contest 2010". RTÉ. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
- ^ Egan, John (14 November 2006). "Dervish for Ireland 2007!". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ Murray, Gavin (7 October 2006). "Johnny Logan 'would' represent Ireland again". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ West-Soley, Richard (14 October 2006). "Bookie's choice: Logan for Ireland". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 16 November 2006. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ Floras, Stella (22 November 2006). "Ireland: Public competition for songs". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ "Dervish are Ireland's Eurovision entry". RTÉ. 14 November 2006. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ Viniker, Barry (14 November 2006). "200+ songs for Ireland". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ "RTÉ announces Eurosong Finalists". RTÉ. 7 February 2007.
- ^ van Gorp, Edwin (7 February 2007). "Ireland: Songtitles known". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
- ^ Murray, Gavin (16 February 2007). "Tonight: Irish national final". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (17 June 2007). "Ireland has decided: "They Can't Stop The Spring" in Helsinki!". ESCToday. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
- ^ Klier, Marcus (16 February 2007). "Live: Irish national final (transcript)". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ "Eurovision Song Contest–Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). Archived from the original on 30 April 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Extracts from the Rules for the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest" (PDF). European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 May 2007. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ Bakker, Sietse (20 May 2006). "Results of the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest". ESCToday. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
- Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Retrieved 20 November 2008.
- ^ Floras, Stella (27 April 2007). "Rehearsals and Press Conferences schedule". ESCToday. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
- ^ West-Soley, Richard (7 May 2007). "04. Folk fest: Ireland on stage". Esctoday. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ West-Soley, Richard (8 May 2007). "04. Dervish daisy: Dramatic change of Irish staging". Esctoday. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ West-Soley, Richard (11 May 2007). "Second final rehearsal : Live coverage". Esctoday. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
- ^ "Grand Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Semi-Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Results of the Grand Final of Helsinki 2007". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- ^ Granger, Anthony (7 May 2022). "Ireland: Linda Martin Spokesperson For Eurovision 2022". Eurovoix. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
- ^ a b West-Soley, Richard (18 May 2007). "Irish viewing figures still strong". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ Floras, Stella (16 May 2007). "Ireland: Heads up for Dervish". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ Floras, Stella (11 June 2007). "RTE faces criticism from local media". ESCToday. Archived from the original on 3 November 2007. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
- ^ Viniker, Barry (14 May 2007). "Ireland to follow Monaco out?". ESCToday. Retrieved 28 September 2008.
- ^ McEvoy, Denis (3 October 2007). "RTE to return to the National Song Contest". Oikotimes. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
- ^ Krasilnikova, Anna (11 April 2007). "Ireland calls for Eurovision 2008 entries". ESCToday. Retrieved 24 September 2008.