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Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 with the song "What's Another Year", written by Shay Healy, and performed by Johnny Logan. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final. The entry eventually won the Eurovision Song Contest.
| Eurovision Song Contest 1980 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Participating broadcaster | Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) | |||
| Country |  Ireland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | National final | |||
| Selection date(s) | 9 March 1980 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Johnny Logan | |||
| Selected song | "What's Another Year" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | Shay Healy | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 1st, 143 points | |||
| Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Before Eurovision
editNational final
editRadio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) held the Irish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 1980 on 9 March 1980 at its studios in Dublin, hosted by Larry Gogan.
Eight songs were performed live to the Irish viewers and listeners, with the winning song being decided by 10 regional juries across the country. The winner went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest in The Hague, which gave Ireland its second victory, ten years after its first.
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roy Taylor and Karen Black | "Lovin' Won't Let You Down" | 13 | 3 |
| 2 | The Straw Hat and Garter Company | "Take Me Back Again" | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | Eileen Reid | "The Saddest Show on Earth" | 10 | 4 |
| 4 | Charlie Chapman and The Miami | "You're So Cheeky" | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Johnny Logan | "What's Another Year" | 40 | 1 |
| 6 | The Dajacs | "You Have" | 4 | 7 |
| 7 | Peter Beckett | "Stepping Stones" | 21 | 2 |
| 8 | Romance | "Love Is All There Is" | 5 | 5 |
| Draw | Song | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lovin' Won't Let You Down" | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 13 | ||||
| 2 | "Take Me Back Again" | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
| 3 | "The Saddest Show on Earth" | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | |||||
| 4 | "You're So Cheeky" | 2 | 3 | 5 | ||||||||
| 5 | "What's Another Year" | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 40 |
| 6 | "You Have" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | |||||||
| 7 | "Stepping Stones" | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 21 | |||||
| 8 | "Love Is All There Is" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
At Eurovision
edit
The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was held at the Congresgebouw in The Hague, Netherlands. Ireland performed 17th on the night of the contest, following France and preceding Spain. Logan received 143 points for his performance, winning the contest for Ireland.[1]
Voting
edit
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Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest
editAmong "What's Another Year"'s future honours as a Eurovision evergreen was its inclusion as one of the fourteen competing songs in Congratulations, Eurovision's fiftieth anniversary contest special. It was one of two Irish entries competing to be named the best Eurovision entry of all time, the other being Logan's subsequent winner, "Hold Me Now.". The song was performed second on the night, following the United Kingdom's Cliff Richard with "Congratulations" and preceding Israel's Dana International with "Diva." Unlike "Hold Me Now," "What's Another Year" failed to make it past the first round, finishing 12th with 74 points.[3]
Voting
edit| Score | Country |
|---|---|
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | Ireland
|
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points |  Denmark
|
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |
References
edit- ^ "Final of The Hague 1980". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of the Final of The Hague 1980". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Congratulations: Results from the voting (Round 1)" (PDF). Eurovision Song Contest. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 May 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2021.