Jump to content

Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Eurovision Song Contest 1995
Participating broadcasterRadio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ)
Country Ireland
National selection
Selection processNational final
Selection date(s)12 March 1995
Selected artist(s)Eddie Friel
Selected song"Dreamin'"
Selected songwriter(s)
  • Richard Abbott
  • Barry Woods
Finals performance
Final result14th, 44 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1994 1995 1996►

Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1995 with the song "Dreamin'", written by Richard Abbott and Barry Woods, and performed by Eddie Friel. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final. In addition, RTÉ was also the host broadcaster –for the third year in a row– and staged the event at the Point Theatre in Dublin –for the second time in a row–, after winning the previous edition with the song "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan.

Before Eurovision

[edit]

National final

[edit]

Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) held its national final on 12 March 1995 at the Cork Opera House in Cork. For the fifth year running, Pat Kenny hosted the event. The eight songs presented were voted on by ten regional juries.[1]

Draw Performer Song Points Place
1 Eddie Friel "Dreamin'" 99 1
2 Mary Farrell "The Night Time" 66 6
3 Annette Griffin "Ó Am go hAm" 68 5
4 Henry Winter "Now That Love Has Brought You Back Again" 37 7
5 Joan Connolly "Rainy Day" 33 8
6 Carl Corcoran "Little by Little" 73 4
7 Maggie Toal "Come Back and Hold Me" 82 3
8 Naoimh Penston "Always You" 92 2
Detailed Regional Jury Votes
Draw Song
Athlone
Buncrana
Castlebar
Cork
Dublin
Dundalk
Galway
Kilkenny
Limerick
Waterford
Total
1 "Dreamin'" 12 5 7 12 12 10 12 10 12 7 99
2 "The Night Time" 8 7 5 7 5 5 10 6 7 6 66
3 "Ó Am go hAm" 10 6 10 5 8 8 6 5 5 5 68
4 "Now That Love Has Brought You Back Again" 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 3 4 4 37
5 "Rainy Day" 3 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 3 3 33
6 "Little by Little" 5 8 12 8 7 7 5 7 6 8 73
7 "Come Back and Hold Me" 6 10 6 6 6 12 8 8 10 10 82
8 "Always You" 7 12 8 10 10 6 7 12 8 12 92

Following its victory, the winning song "Dreamin'" caused some controversy following plagiarism allegations due to similarities to a Julie Felix song called "Moonlight". The second-placed song in the national final, "Always You", was for a while considered as a potential replacement for Friel, however an agreement with Felix allowed the song to continue in the contest.[2]

At Eurovision

[edit]

"Dreamin'" went on to take 14th place in the contest with 44 points, breaking Ireland's record three-year-long winning streak.[3] Ireland won again, however, the following year.

Voting

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "https://web.archive.org/web/20091022133216/http://geocities.com/national_finals_90s_00s/Ireland1995.html
  2. ^ Roxburgh, Gordon (2020). Songs For Europe - The United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest. Volume Four: The 1990s. UK: Telos Publishing. p. 213. ISBN 978-1-84583-163-9.
  3. ^ "Final of Dublin 1995". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Dublin 1995". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.