Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1978

Eurovision Song Contest 1978
Country Ireland
National selection
Selection processNational final
Selection date(s)5 March 1978
Selected entrantColm C. T. Wilkinson
Selected song"Born to Sing"
Selected songwriter(s)Colm C. T. Wilkinson
Finals performance
Final result5th, 86 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1977 • 1978 • 1979►

Ireland was represented by Colm C. T. Wilkinson, with the song "Born to Sing", at the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 22 April in Paris. "Born to Sing" was chosen as the Irish entry at the national final on 5 March.

Before Eurovision

National final

The final was held at the studios of broadcaster RTÉ in Dublin, hosted by Mike Murphy. Eight songs took part, with the winner chosen by voting from ten regional juries. Other participants included future Irish representatives Sheeba (1981), and Linda Martin (1984 & 1992) who performed as a member of the group Chips.[1]

Draw Artist Song Points Place
1 Reform "You Gotta Get Up" 7 5
2 Jamie Stone "Over Again" 4 7
3 Sheeba "It's Amazing What Love Can Do" 6 6
4 Danny Doyle "Lonely Now" 1 8
5 Chips "Happy Days" 8 4
6 Colm C. T. Wilkinson "Born to Sing" 46 1
7 Gemma Craven "All Fall Down" 12 3
8 Stacc "You Put the Love in My Heart" 16 2

At Eurovision

On the night of the final Wilkinson performed first in the running order, preceding Norway. At the close of voting "Born to Sing" had picked up 86 points, placing Ireland fifth of the 20 entries.[2] The song seemed to have a polarising effect on the various national juries, with eight placing it in their top 5 while eight others had it outside their top 10 and failed to award it any points at all. The Irish jury awarded its 12 points to Belgium.[3]

Voting

Points awarded to Ireland[4]
Score Country
12 points  Norway
10 points
8 points  Sweden
7 points   Switzerland
6 points  Austria
5 points
4 points
3 points  Finland
2 points
1 point
Points awarded by Ireland[4]
Score Country
12 points  Belgium
10 points  Italy
8 points  Israel
7 points  Greece
6 points  France
5 points  Sweden
4 points  Monaco
3 points  United Kingdom
2 points  Luxembourg
1 point  Germany

References

  1. ^ ESC National Finals database 1978
  2. ^ "Final of Paris 1978". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  3. ^ ESC History – Ireland 1978
  4. ^ a b "Results of the Final of Paris 1978". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  • v
  • t
  • e
ParticipationArtistsSongs
  • "22"
  • "All Kinds of Everything"
  • "Born to Sing"
  • "Ceol an Ghrá"
  • "Chance of a Lifetime"
  • "Come Back to Stay"
  • "Could It Be That I'm in Love"
  • "Cross Your Heart"
  • "Do I Dream"
  • "Doomsday Blue"
  • "Dreamin'"
  • "Dying to Try"
  • "Et Cetera"
  • "Every Song Is a Cry for Love"
  • "Happy Man"
  • "Heartbeat"
  • "Here Today Gone Tomorrow"
  • "Hold Me Now"
  • "Horoscopes"
  • "If I Could Choose"
  • "If My World Stopped Turning"
  • "In Your Eyes"
  • "Irelande Douze Pointe"
  • "Is Always Over Now?"
  • "It's for You"
  • "It's Nice to Be in Love Again"
  • "Lipstick"
  • "Love?"
  • "Maps"
  • "Millennium of Love"
  • "Mysterious Woman"
  • "One Day Love"
  • "Only Love Survives"
  • "Playing with Numbers"
  • "The Real Me"
  • "Rock 'n' Roll Kids"
  • "Somewhere in Europe"
  • "Story of My Life"
  • "Sunlight"
  • "Take Him Home"
  • "Terminal 3"
  • "That's Rich"
  • "That's What Friends Are For"
  • "They Can't Stop the Spring"
  • "Together"
  • "The Voice"
  • "The Wages of Love"
  • "Wait Until the Weekend Comes"
  • "Walking the Streets in the Rain"
  • "Waterline"
  • "We Are One"
  • "We've Got the World"
  • "What's Another Year"
  • "When"
  • "When You Need Me"
  • "Why Me?"
  • "Without Your Love"
  • "You Can Count On Me"
  • Note: Entries scored out signify where Ireland did not compete
  • v
  • t
  • e
Countries
Artists
Songs
  • "A-Ba-Ni-Bi"
  • "L'Amour ça fait chanter la vie"
  • "Anna rakkaudelle tilaisuus"
  • "The Bad Old Days"
  • "Bailemos un vals"
  • "Boom Boom"
  • "Born to Sing"
  • "Charlie Chaplin"
  • "Dai li dou"
  • "Det blir alltid värre framåt natten"
  • "Feuer"
  • "Il y aura toujours des violons"
  • "Les Jardins de Monaco"
  • "Mil etter mil"
  • "Mrs. Caroline Robinson"
  • "Parlez-vous français ?"
  • "Questo amore"
  • "Sevince"
  • "'t Is OK"
  • "Vivre"