Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "Chance of a Lifetime", written by John Kennedy, and performed by Pat McGeegan. The Irish participating broadcaster, (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final.
The contestants in the Irish National Final were decided by two semi-finals, where three were chosen from the first which was held on 6 February with the second being held on 20 February. The Final was held on 3 March 1968 and was broadcast on RTÉ TV from Dublin. All three shows were hosted by Brendan O'Reilly.
Before Eurovision National Song Contest The fourth National Song Contest consisted of two semi-finals and a final, held by (RTÉ) in its studios in Dublin, hosted by Brendan O'Reilly. This was the first time that an Irish national final had a semi-final and remained the only time until 1996.
Competing entries RTÉ opened a submission period for composers to submit songs between 27 October 1967 and 1 January 1968. Composers had to be Irish-born or live in Ireland and could only submit a maximum of two songs each. RTÉ selected 16 songs from the received submissions.
Artist Song Songwriter(s)Alma Carroll"Give Me All Your Love"Joe BurkettAnna McGoldrick"Gleann na Smól"Stephen Redmond S.J.Anne Bushnell"Ballad to a Boy"Dawn Knight"Why?"Mary MacDonaghDeirdre Wynne"Woman Beside the Phone"Sean FitzpatrickFrances McDermott"Since the Spring"Sean Byrne Frankie McBride "You're Not There at All"Hedley KayGregory"You Can't Have Everything" Joan Connolly "Grown Up World"Séamus FoxLeslie Cooke"Happy"Peter O'BrienPat Lynch"Kinsale"Pat McGeegan"Chance of a Lifetime"John KennedyRoly Daniels"Look for Love"Andrew DunneTina"One Love Two"Jim DohertyTommy Drennan"If You Love Me"Michael ReadeTony Kenny"Bright Butterfly"
Semi-finals The exact results for the semi-finals are unknown. Although three songs were intended to qualify from each semi-final, a mistake where song 'M' ("Gleann na Smól") was accidentally announced as having qualified instead of song 'N' ("Chance of a Lifetime"), meant that both songs qualified from the second semi-final.
+Semi-Final 1 – 6 February 1968 Artist Song Result 1 Leslie Cooke "Happy" 2 Deirdre Wynne "Woman Beside the Phone" 3 Pat Lynch "Kinsale" Qualified 4 Joan Connolly "Grown Up World" 5 Tony Kenny "Bright Butterfly" Qualified 6 Dawn Knight "Why?" 7 Frankie McBride "You're Not There at All" 8 Tina "One Love Two" Qualified
+Semi-Final 2 – 20 February 1968 Artist Song Result 1 Gregory "You Can't Have Everything" 2 Frances McDermott "Since the Spring" Qualified 3 Tommy Drennan "If You Love Me" 4 Anna McGoldrick "Gleann na Smól" Qualified 5 Pat McGeegan "Chance of a Lifetime" Qualified 6 Alma Carroll "Give Me All Your Love" Qualified 7 Roly Daniels "Look for Love" 8Anne Bushnell"Ballad to a Boy"
Final The final was held on 3 March 1968 at the RTÉ studios in Dublin, hosted by Brendan O'Reilly. The results were decided by 10 regional juries.
+Final – 3 March 1968 Artist Song Points Place 1 Anna McGoldrick "Gleann na Smól" 4 5 2 Tony Kenny "Bright Butterfly" 0 7 3 Frances McDermott "Since the Spring" 2 6 4 Pat McGeegan "Chance of a Lifetime" 15 1 5 Tina "One Love Two" 13 3 6 Pat Lynch "Kinsale" 14 2 7 Alma Carroll "Give Me All Your Love" 12 4
At Eurovision Ireland started at number 14 in the startfield and finished 4th with 18 points.
Voting
+ Points awarded to Ireland Score Country 6 points 4 points 1 point
+ Points awarded by Ireland Score Country 4 points 3 points 1 point
References