Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968
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Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "Chance of a Lifetime", written by John Kennedy, and performed by Pat McGeegan. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1968 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) | |||
| Country |  Ireland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | National final | |||
| Selection date(s) | 3 March 1968 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Pat McGeegan | |||
| Selected song | "Chance of a Lifetime" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | John Kennedy | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 4th, 18 points | |||
| Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
The contestants in the Irish National Final were decided by two semi-finals, where three were chosen from the first which was held on 6 February with the second being held on 20 February. The Final was held on 3 March 1968 and was broadcast on RTÉ TV from Dublin. All three shows were hosted by Brendan O'Reilly.
Before Eurovision
editNational Song Contest
editThe fourth National Song Contest consisted of two semi-finals and a final, held by Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) in its studios in Dublin, hosted by Brendan O'Reilly.[1] This was the first time that an Irish national final had a semi-final and remained the only time until 1996.
Competing Entries
editRTÉ opened a submission period for composers to submit songs between 27 October 1967 and 1 January 1968. Composers had to be Irish-born or live in Ireland and could only submit a maximum of two songs each. RTÉ selected 16 songs from the received submissions.[2]
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Alma Carroll | "Give Me All Your Love" | Joe Burkett |
| Anna McGoldrick | "Gleann Na Smól" | Stephen Redmond S.J. |
| Anne Bushnell | "Ballad to a Boy" | Frank Dunne, Dolores Rockett |
| Dawn Knight | "Why?" | Mary MacDonagh |
| Deirdre Wynne | "Woman Beside the Phone" | Sean Fitzpatrick |
| Frances McDermott | "Since the Spring" | Sean Byrne |
| Frankie McBride | "You're Not There at All" | Hedley Kay |
| Gregory | "You Can't Have Everything" | John McBreen, Eamon O'Shea |
| Joan Connolly | "Grown Up World" | Séamus Fox |
| Leslie Cooke | "Happy" | Peter O'Brien |
| Pat Lynch | "Kinsale" | Jack Brierley, George Crosbie |
| Pat McGeegan | "Chance of a Lifetime" | John Kennedy |
| Roly Daniels | "Look for Love" | Andrew Dunne |
| Tina | "One Love Two" | Jim Doherty |
| Tommy Drennan | "If You Love Me" | Michael Reade |
| Tony Kenny | "Bright Butterfly" | Helen Dunne, Dolores Rockett |
Semi-Finals
editAlmost all of the running order and exact results for the semi-finals are unknown. Although three songs were intended to qualify from each semi-final, a mistake where song 'M' ("Gleann Na Smól") was accidentally announced as having qualified instead of song 'N' ("Chance of a Lifetime"), meant that both songs qualified from the second semi-final.[3]
| Artist | Song |
|---|---|
| Tony Kenny | "Bright Butterfly" |
| Joan Connolly | "Grown Up World" |
| Leslie Cooke | "Happy" |
| Pat Lynch | "Kinsale" |
| Tina | "One Love Two" |
| Dawn Knight | "Why" |
| Deirdre Wynne | "Woman Beside the Phone" |
| Frankie McBride | "You're Not There at All" |
| Draw | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Pat McGeegan | "Chance of a Lifetime" |
| 6 | Anna McGoldrick | "Gleann Na Smól" |
| Unknown | Alma Carroll | "Give Me All Your Love" |
| Unknown | Anne Bushnell | "Ballad to a Boy" |
| Unknown | Tommy Drennan | "If You Love Me" |
| Unknown | Roly Daniels | "Look for Love" |
| Unknown | Frances McDermott | "Since the Spring" |
| Unknown | Gregory | "You Can't Have Everything" |
Final
editThe final was held on 3 March 1968 at the RTÉ studios in Dublin, hosted by Brendan O'Reilly. The results were decided by 10 regional juries.[1]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna McGoldrick | "Gleann Na Smól" | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | Tony Kenny | "Bright Butterfly" | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Frances McDermott | "Since the Spring" | 2[4] | 6 |
| 4 | Pat McGeegan | "Chance of a Lifetime" | 15 | 1 |
| 5 | Tina | "One Love Two" | 13 | 3 |
| 6 | Pat Lynch | "Kinsale" | 14 | 2 |
| 7 | Alma Carroll | "Give Me All Your Love" | 12 | 4 |
At Eurovision
editIreland started at number 14 in the startfield and finished 4th with 18 points.
Voting
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References
edit- ^ a b "IRISH NATIONAL FINAL 1968". natfinals.50webs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
- ^ "Finding Irish song for Eurovision". The Irish Times. 27 October 1967. p. 8.
- ^ "Slip of tongue helps entry in song contest". The Irish Times. 21 February 1968. p. 9.
- ^ "Photographic image" (JPG). Stillslibrary.rte.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of London 1968". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
