Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "It's Nice to Be in Love Again", written by Tommy and Jimmy Swarbrigg, and performed by themselves, along Alma Carroll and Nicola Kerr, under the stage name The Swarbriggs Plus Two. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final. The Swarbriggs had previously represented Ireland in 1975.
Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) held the national final at its studios in Dublin, hosted by Mike Murphy. Eight songs took part, with the winner chosen by voting from ten regional juries. Other participants included past and future Irish representatives Dickie Rock (1966) and Colm C. T. Wilkinson (1978), while future Eurovision winner Linda Martin (1992) performed as a member of the group Chips.[1]
On the night of the final the group performed first in the running order, preceding Monaco. Pre-contest betting rated Ireland as one of the front runners, along with the entries from Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. At the close of voting "It's Nice to Be in Love Again" had picked up 119 points, placing Ireland third of the 18 entries, the country's best placement since Dana's victory seven years earlier.[2] The song had gained four maximum 12s – from Israel, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom – with only Finland failing to award it any points at all. It was therefore somewhat ironic that the Irish jury awarded its 12 points to Finland.[3]
Ireland
