Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1994

Eurovision Song Contest 1994
Participating broadcaster	Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ)
Country	Ireland
National selection
Selection process	National final
Selection date(s)	13 March 1994
Selected artist(s)	Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan
Selected song	"Rock 'n' Roll Kids"
Selected songwriter(s)	Brendan Graham
Finals performance
Final result	1st, 226 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1993 • 1994 • 1995►

Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 with the song "Rock 'n' Roll Kids", written by Brendan Graham, and performed by Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final, which ultimately won the contest. In addition, RTÉ was also the host broadcaster –for the second year in a row– and staged the event at the Point Theatre in Dublin, after winning the previous edition with the song "In Your Eyes" by Niamh Kavanagh.

Before Eurovision

National final

Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) held its national final in the University Concert Hall in Limerick on 13 March 1994. TV broadcaster and Eurovision Song Contest 1988 co-presenter Pat Kenny hosted the event. The eight songs presented were then voted on by ten regional juries.^[1]

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Henry Winter	"Remember Heaven"	56	6
2	Orna McNamara	"Crystal Eyes"	87	2
3	Nightshade	"Open Your Heart"	48	7
4	Darren Holden	"After Tonight"	81	3
5	Robyn Grant	"Time To Decide"	59	5
6	Paul Harrington and Charlie McGettigan	"Rock 'n' Roll Kids"	110	1
7	Fiona Kennedy	"Ní scaoilfidh mé leat go deo"	47	8
8	Anne Buckley	"I Won't Surrender"	62	4

Charlie McGettigan had previously competed in Ireland's national final selection in 1984 and 1987, placing third both times.

At Eurovision

"Rock 'n' Roll Kids" was performed third in the running order on the night of the contest, following Finland and preceding Cyprus. The song went on to win the contest with 226 points, a 60-point lead over runner-up Poland.^[2] This was Ireland's third win in a row, and sixth overall. Both were Eurovision records - no country had previously managed to win three years in a row.

Voting

Points awarded to Ireland[3] Score Country 12 points  Croatia  Germany  Iceland  Netherlands  Norway  Portugal  Russia   Switzerland 10 points  Austria  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Estonia  Hungary  Lithuania  Spain  Sweden  United Kingdom 8 points  Cyprus  France  Poland  Romania 7 points  Finland 6 points  Slovakia 5 points  Malta 4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Points awarded by Ireland[3] Score Country 12 points  Hungary 10 points  Malta 8 points  Portugal 7 points  Poland 6 points  Iceland 5 points  Germany 4 points  Russia 3 points  Norway 2 points  France 1 point  United Kingdom

References

1. "https://web.archive.org/web/20091022072256/http://geocities.com/national_finals_90s_00s/Ireland1994.html
2. "Final of Dublin 1994". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
3. "Results of the Final of Dublin 1994". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.