Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968

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Eurovision Song Contest 1968
Country Ireland
National selection
Selection processNational final
Selection date(s)3 March 1968
Selected entrantPat McGeegan
Selected song"Chance of a Lifetime"
Selected songwriter(s)John Kennedy
Finals performance
Final result4th, 18 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1967 1968 1969►

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 in Dublin, Ireland. All three shows were hosted by Brendan O'Reilly.

Ireland was represented by Pat McGeegan, with the song "Chance of a Lifetime", at the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 6 April in London. The song was chosen in the fourth National Song Contest held on 3 March 1968.

Before Eurovision[edit]

National Song Contest[edit]

The fourth National Song Contest consisted of two semi-finals and a final, which were held in the RTÉ Studios in Dublin, Ireland and 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[edit]

RTÉ opened a submission period for composers to submit songs between 27 October 1967 and 1 January 1968. Composers had 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[edit]

Almost 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]

Semi-Final 1 - 6 February 1968
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"
Semi-Final 2 - 20 February 1968
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[edit]

The final was held on 3 March 1968 in the RTÉ Studios in Dublin, Ireland and hosted by Brendan O'Reilly. The results were decided by 10 regional juries.[1]

Final - 3 March 1968
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[edit]

Ireland started at number 14 in the startfield and finished 4th with 18 points.

Voting[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "IRISH NATIONAL FINAL 1968". natfinals.50webs.com. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Finding Irish song for Eurovision". The Irish Times. 27 October 1967. p. 8.
  3. ^ "Slip of tongue helps entry in song contest". The Irish Times. 21 February 1968. p. 9.
  4. ^ "Photographic image" (JPG). Stillslibrary.rte.ie. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Results of the Final of London 1968". Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original on 8 April 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.

External links[edit]