Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1997

Eurovision Song Contest 1997
Eurovision Song Contest 1997
Country	Ireland
National selection
Selection process	Eurosong
Selection date(s)	9 March 1997
Selected entrant	Marc Roberts
Selected song	"Mysterious Woman"
Selected songwriter(s)	John Farry
Finals performance
Final result	2nd, 157 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest

For the 1997 Eurovision Song Contest held in Dublin, Ireland selected Marc Roberts to represent the country with the song "Mysterious Woman".

Before Eurovision

National final

Réalta '97

'Réalta' was a radio song contest started in 1995 by RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta exclusively for Irish songs.^[1] The first edition of the contest was not related to Eurosong, but from 1996 until 1999, the recent winner of Réalta would qualify to Eurosong. The 3rd edition of Réalta took place on 22 November 1996.^[2] The running order and some of the results of Réalta '97 are unknown.^[3]^[4]

Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)	Place
Aidan Coleman	"Slán go fóill"	Aidan Coleman, Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa	—
Ann Marie Nic Dhonnchadha	"An t-earrach"	Pádraig Ó Conghaile, Ann Marie Nic Dhonnchadha	—
Art Ó Dufaigh	"Gairm na seirce"	Art Ó Dufaigh	—
Barry Ronan	"Cailín álainn"	P.J. Flaherty, Eugene Killeen	—
Evelyn Curry	"Carnán cloch"	Cathal Ó Catháin, Evelyn Curry	—
Helen Uí Dhunáird	"Uaigneas"	Seán Ó Coisdealbha, Helen Uí Dhunáird, Jane Simmons, Steven Simmons	1
Mícheál Ó hAllmhúráin	"Tógaigí sos"	Siobhán Ní Mhurchú, Mícheál Ó hAllmhúráin	—
Nioclás Breathnach	"Saol búca"	Nioclás Breathnach	—
Seán Monaghan	"Cáwockatú"	Seán Monaghan, Danny Monaghan, Maoilre de Búrca	2
Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin	"Seo an talamh"	Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin	—

Eurosong

The final took place on 9 March 1997 at the Institute of Technology in Waterford, hosted by Pat Kenny. Eight entries competed in the final and the winner, "Mysterious Woman" performed by Marc Roberts, was determined by the votes of ten regional juries.^[5]

Final – 9 March 1997
Draw	Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)	Points	Place
1	Tommy Quinn	"Good Life"	Teresa Keogh	59	5
2	Miranda	"I Am Here"	Jim Walsh	48	7
3	Darren Holden	"Suddenly"	Darren Holden	91	2
4	Michelle Costelloe	"Never Far Away"	Michelle Costelloe	45	8
5	Helen Uí Dhúnaird	"Uaigneas"	Seán Ó Coisdealbha, Helen Uí Dhunáird, Jane Simmons, Steven Simmons	54	6
6	Gary O'Shaughnessy	"Love and Understanding"	Michael Heffernan, Kevin Smith	87	3
7	Maggie Toal	"My Love"	Tony Adams-Rosa	67	4
8	Marc Roberts	"Mysterious Woman"	John Farry	99	1

Detailed Regional Jury Votes
Draw	Song	Athlone	Ballybunion	Cork	Dublin	Dundalk	Galway	Killybegs	Limerick	Sligo	Waterford	Total
1	"Good Life"	6	4	7	6	6	8	6	8	5	3	59
2	"I Am Here"	5	3	5	8	3	3	3	5	3	10	48
3	"Suddenly"	10	8	10	12	7	6	10	4	12	12	91
4	"Never Far Away"	3	5	3	4	5	4	4	6	4	7	45
5	"Uaigneas"	4	7	4	3	4	10	5	3	6	8	54
6	"Love and Understanding"	8	10	8	10	8	12	7	10	10	4	87
7	"My Love"	7	6	6	5	10	5	8	7	8	5	67
8	"Mysterious Woman"	12	12	12	7	12	7	12	12	7	6	99

At Eurovision

Ahead of the contest, Ireland were considered one of the favourites among bookmakers to win the contest for an eighth time, featuring alongside the entries from Italy, United Kingdom, Germany and Estonia.^[6] Roberts performed 5th in the running order on the night of the contest. "Mysterious Woman" went on to be placed 2nd with 157 points.^[7] To date, this was the last time Ireland's Eurovision entry placed in the top five.

Voting

Points awarded to Ireland^[8]
Score	Country
12 points	United Kingdom
10 points	Austria Denmark France Italy Portugal Sweden
8 points	Bosnia and Herzegovina Cyprus Estonia Germany Hungary
7 points	Poland Switzerland
6 points	Croatia Spain Turkey
5 points	Russia
4 points	Netherlands
3 points	Norway
2 points
1 point	Slovenia

Points awarded by Ireland^[8]
Score	Country
12 points	United Kingdom
10 points	France
8 points	Estonia
7 points	Malta
6 points	Spain
5 points	Sweden
4 points	Hungary
3 points	Cyprus
2 points	Turkey
1 point	Italy

References

^ Réalta (CD) (in Irish). Casla, Conamara: Raidio na Gaeltachta. 1995. RTE189 CD.
^ "R na G's Song Contest". Galway Advertiser. 21 November 1996. p. 25. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
^ Archives, RTÉ (5 July 2012). "RTÉ Archives". stillslibrary.rte.ie. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
^ Réalta '97 (CD) (in Irish). Casla, Conamara: Raidio na Gaeltachta. 1997. RTE203 CD.
^ "https://web.archive.org/web/20091022161852/http://geocities.com/national_finals_90s_00s/Ireland1997.html
^ "What are the Odds?". Radio Telefís Éireann. Archived from the original on 24 February 1999. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
^ "Final of Dublin 1997". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Results of the Final of Dublin 1997". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

[1] Réalta (CD) (in Irish). Casla, Conamara: Raidio na Gaeltachta. 1995. RTE189 CD.

[2] "R na G's Song Contest". Galway Advertiser. 21 November 1996. p. 25. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.

[3] Archives, RTÉ (5 July 2012). "RTÉ Archives". stillslibrary.rte.ie. Retrieved 28 June 2023.

[4] Réalta '97 (CD) (in Irish). Casla, Conamara: Raidio na Gaeltachta. 1997. RTE203 CD.

[5] "https://web.archive.org/web/20091022161852/http://geocities.com/national_finals_90s_00s/Ireland1997.html

[6] "What are the Odds?". Radio Telefís Éireann. Archived from the original on 24 February 1999. Retrieved 20 November 2022.

[7] "Final of Dublin 1997". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

[1997detailed-8] "Results of the Final of Dublin 1997". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2021.

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v t e Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Eurosong You're a Star Discography
Participation	1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022 2023 2024
Artists	Bambie Thug Black Daisy Brooke Nicky Byrne Can-linn Maria Christian Kiev Connolly Dana Muriel Day Dervish Ryan Dolan Donna and Joe Chris Doran Cathal Dunne Sean Dunphy The Duskeys Dustin the Turkey Angela Farrell Eddie Friel Paul Harrington Mickey Harte Red Hurley Kim Jackson Jedward Sandie Jones Jump the Gun Niamh Kavanagh Brian Kennedy The Lindsays Johnny Logan Luv Bug Dawn Martin Linda Martin Maxi Pat McGeegan Charlie McGettigan Sarah McTernan The Missing Passengers Butch Moore The Mullans Sinéad Mulvey Brendan Murray Gary O'Shaughnessy Ryan O'Shaughnessy Eimear Quinn Liam Reilly Tina Reynolds Marc Roberts Dickie Rock Lesley Roy Sheeba Kasey Smith Molly Sterling The Swarbriggs Eamonn Toal Wild Youth Colm C.T. Wilkinson
Songs	"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 Eurovision Song Contest 1997
Countries	Austria Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatia Cyprus Denmark Estonia France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Russia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom
Artists	Barbara Berta Blond Alma Čardžić Tor Endresen E.N.I Fanny Jalisse Anna Maria Jopek Katrina and the Waves Kølig Kaj Hara and Andreas Konstantinou Célia Lawson Maarja Marcos Llunas Mrs. Einstein Paul Oscar Şebnem Paker and Grup Ethnic Alla Pugacheva Tanja Ribič Marc Roberts Debbie Scerri Bianca Shomburg Bettina Soriat V.I.P. Marianna Zorba
Songs	"Ale jestem" "Antes do adeus" "Bara hon älskar mig" "Dentro di me" "Dinle" "Fiumi di parole" "Goodbye" "Horepse" "Keelatud maa" "Let Me Fly" "Love Shine a Light" "Mana mou" "Miért kell, hogy elmenj?" "Minn hinsti dans" "Mysterious Woman" "Niemand heeft nog tijd" "One Step" "Primadonna" "Probudi me" "San Francisco" "Sentiments songes" "Sin rencor" "Stemmen i mit liv" "Zbudi se" "Zeit"