*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

Eurovision Song Contest 2007
Country  Ireland
National selection
Selection process Artist: Internal Selection
Song: National Final
100% Televoting/SMS
Selection date(s) 16 February 2007
Selected entrant Dervish
Selected song "They Can't Stop the Spring"
Finals performance
Final result 24th, 5 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2006 2007 2008►

Ireland participated at the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 after Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), the Irish broadcaster, internally selected the Irish traditional group Dervish to represent them at the 2007 contest, held in Helsinki, Finland.

Although RTÉ internally selected the artist to represent Ireland at the contest, the song that Dervish sung was selected by the Irish public during The Late Late Show on 16 February 2007. The song selected was "They Can't Stop the Spring", which was composed by John Waters and Tommy Moran. Having automatically qualified to the final after coming in 10th in 2006, Dervish only managed to receive five points, all from Albania, placing last of 24 countries. This was the first time Ireland came last in the contest, after winning a total of seven times in its history, more than any other country in the contest.

After the contest, reactions in Ireland were unsettled, with talks of "vote hijacking" and calls for a new selection for Eurovision. Criticism was also given to Dervish's performance at the contest.

Ireland first entered the Eurovision Song Contest in 1965, making their 41st participation in 2007. Ireland has won the contest seven times in total and no other country has equaled or beaten that record. The country's first win came in their sixth entry, in 1970, when then 18-year-old Dana won with "All Kinds of Everything". Ireland holds the record for being the only country to win the country three times in a row (in 1992, 1993 and 1994). Ireland also has the only three-time winner (Johnny Logan, who won in 1980 as a singer, 1987 as a singer-songwriter, and again in 1992 as a songwriter). In recent years, however, Ireland's impressive record at Eurovision has taken a turn, with only two Top 10 results during the 2000s, and Ireland's first last place finish in 2007.


...
Wikipedia

...