For Ireland it’s going to be 56th time participating in the Eurovision Song Contest this year in Liverpool 2023. Ireland remains the most successful country in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest, having won the competition a total of seven times. Sweden is a close second, with six victories to their name. One of the most impressive records held by Ireland is their achievement of winning the contest three years in a row, from 1992 to 1994, a feat that has yet to be matched by any other country. It is fair to say that the 1990s were the golden years of Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest.

In recent years, many countries have opted for English-language songs to increase their chances of success of the Irish and also UK entries. This has made it more difficult for non-native English speaking countries to stand out, as their songs may not be as easily accessible to the wider audience. Additionally, the increase in the number of participating countries has also made it more challenging for any one country to consistently perform well.

Furthermore the general interest has decreased dramatically thanks to the launch of the Semi Finals in 2004. Now Ireland has to go through the qualification process every year and it happens here and there that Ireland is not in the Grand Final anymore. Maybe it’s a mix of several reasons, a lack of good songs, contemporary compositions and the competition has become harder as well. Many people believe that the bad luck is also due to the opening to the Eastern European countries.

In the track record there is of course Johnny Logan, who could win two times as a singer with “What’s Another Year” in 1980 and “Hold Me Now” in 1987. He could also win another time as a composer of “Why Me” sung by Linda Martin in 1992.

The chances for Ireland to be in the Top10 are still relatively high with 56%. Ireland and the music from Ireland is mostly connected with ethnic music and ballads. There were several attempts over the years to bring modern pop music. Best example here is Jedward who could bring new spirit into the contest with “Lipstick” in 2011 (8th place) and “Waterline” in 2012 (19th place). In recent years Ireland was mostly unsuccessful and did not pass the Semi Finals five times in a row. Beside of Ryan O’Shaughnessy with “Together” in Lisbon 2018, it was not possible anymore to reach the Grand Final.