During the build up to next week’s Eurovision song contest and whilst rehearsal coverage has been restricted this week, due to media access being closed to the first and second rehearsals, we at Eurovision Ireland decided to look back at the highs and lows at Eurovision of each country taking part this year . This time, it’s the turn of Ireland.

When did Ireland first enter Eurovision?

Ireland first entered the contest in 1965 , when Butch Moore , sang “I’m walking the streets in the rain”. He came 6th place with 11 points.

What are Ireland’s high points at Eurovision?

It’s pretty easy to give Ireland’s high points at Eurovision as there have been seven of them in all their Eurovision participation history ! Ireland currently hold the record for winning Eurovision the most times. Three of their wins came in consecutive years, the only country to win the contest three years in a row.

The road to Ireland’s seven victories began in 1970, when Dana with “All Kinds of Everything” won in Amsterdam .

In 1980, Johnny Logan gave Ireland their second win , ironically in The Netherlands, the same country where Dana triumphed just 10 years earlier , except that the contest took place in The Hague.

In 1987 , Logan returned to the contest , this time in Brussels, where he won again, with his song “Hold me now “.

In 1992, came the first of Irelands three back to back wins. Linda Martin , with a song composed by Mr Eurovision himself, Johnny Logan, sang Ireland to victory in Malmø with “Why me?”

In 1993, Niamh Kavanagh achieved the first back to back win for Ireland with “In your eyes”, beating the UK’s Sonia to the prize in Mill Street, County Cork, Ireland.

In 1994, against all the odds and perhaps to the surprise and shock of even the performers, Paul Harrington and Charlie Mcgettigan , Ireland won the contest for the third time in a row with their gentle song “Rock and Roll kids”. Which gave the Irish broadcaster RTE somewhat of a financial headache as it meant hosting the contest once again the following year!

After a year’s break, with Norway having finally broken the Irish stronghold on the contest the year before, the 1996 contest took place in Oslo, Norway. Once again , Ireland triumphed , with Eimear Quinn and her song ” The Voice”, taking the contest back to Dublin again. To date , this is Irelands seventh and last win.

What are Ireland’s lowest points at Eurovision?

Besides their triumphs, Ireland have also had some bad moments in the contests too, in particular, since the inauguration of the Semi Finals in 2004. They have struggled to qualify for the final several times, the last time they did being in 2018 , when Ryan O’ Shaughnessy sang “Together ” in Lisbon. However their worst results have been in 2007 when Dervish represented the nation in Helsinki , Finland, with “They can’t stop the Spring”.They finished last in the Grand Final with just 5 points .

In 2013 , despite qualifying for the Grand final in Malmø with an uptempo song , Ryan Dolan finished last in the Grand Final with his song “Only love survives”, with only 5 points.

Perhaps worse were the results in 2019 and 2021. In 2019 , Sarah Mcternan finished last in her semi final with her song “22” in Tel Aviv, Israel with 16 points.

In 2021, Lesley Roy sang “Maps” in Rotterdam , unfortunately the complex staging she had was maybe a little too much for viewers and she came last in her Semi Final ,with just 20 points.

How will Ireland do in 2023?

This year, Wild Youth won the Irish National Selection for the right to represent Ireland in Liverpool. They will be singing “We are one”.

Will they succeed in breaking the deadlock of non -qualifications for Ireland? Let us know what you think of Ireland at Eurovision by leaving us a comment and you can also find us on our FACEBOOK and TWITTER feeds.

Author: Sarah Rudman

Source : RTE , Eurovision.TV , You Tube