Ireland in The Eurovision Song Contest

Ireland In The Eurovision Song Contest

Ireland is the most successful country in the Eurovision Song Contest. They first took part in the 1965 Contest in Naples, participating in every subsequent Contest but two: the 1983 Contest in Munich and the 2002 Contest in Tallinn. Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) is Ireland's representative broadcaster at the Contest, and broadcasts the Contest annually; the semi-finals are broadcast on RTÉ Two and the final on RTÉ One. All but one of the country's entries have been in English; the exception is "Ceol an Ghrá", Ireland's entry in 1972, which was sung in Irish.

On seven occasions the Contest has been staged in Ireland, all but one of these in the capital Dublin, when the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest was held in Millstreet, a town with a population of 1,500 people in west County Cork, following Linda Martin's win in 1992.

Ireland won the Contest for the first time in 1970 with Dana performing "All Kinds of Everything". In total, Ireland has won the Contest seven times, more than any other country, including an unprecedented three consecutive victories in the 1990s (1992, 1993 and 1994 - the most consecutive wins accumulated by a country to date). The decade also saw yet another victory in 1996 and two second place finishes (in 1990, 1997) which gives Ireland the best overall performance by any country in the history of the Contest.