Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006

Eurovision Song Contest 2006
Country	Ireland
National selection
Selection process	Artist: Internal Selection Song: National Final
Selection date(s)	17 February 2006
Selected entrant	Brian Kennedy
Selected song	"Every Song Is a Cry for Love"
Finals performance
Semi-final result	Qualified (9th, 79 points)
Final result	10th, 93 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄2005 • 2006 • 2007►

Ireland’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" by Brian Kennedy. He was selected to sing for the country internally by national broadcaster RTÉ. Irish television viewers selected the entry he would sing during a special edition of The Late Late Show on 17 February. Kennedy's own composition, Every Song Is a Cry for Love was tipped as the winner by the jury members and the audience on the show and, in the end, was triumphant in the public vote. The song is a ballad in the traditional Irish style.

The selection of Kennedy's song provoked something of a controversy. Not only is it written by himself, but his entry arrived in after the initial closing date for potential songs. Prominent Irish journalists, such as John Waters of The Irish Times have also criticised the original judging process of the 200 or so songs which were reduced to three for the Late Late.

39-year-old Brian Edward Patrick Kennedy is an Irish singer-songwriter and author. He was born and grew up on the Falls Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He performed on the original Secret Garden version of the song You Raise Me Up and was performer in Riverdance on Broadway in New York City. He also wrote two novels titled, The Arrival of Feargal Flynn and Roman Song.

His semifinal performance was the 1000th song performed in Eurovision history. He finished ninth in the semifinal and tenth in the final.

Result of National Final

At Eurovision

Because Ireland failed to qualify in 2005 Brian was forced to compete in the Eurovision semi-final,he qualified from 9th place with 79 points in the final he came 10th with 93 points points. Meaning that Ireland automatically qualified for the final in the 2007 contest.

Points Awarded by Ireland

Semi final 12 points  Lithuania 10 points  Finland 8 points  Sweden 7 points  Poland 6 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina 5 points  Belgium 4 points  Russia 3 points  Ukraine 2 points  Iceland 1 point  Estonia

Final 12 points  Lithuania 10 points  Finland 8 points  United Kingdom 7 points  Sweden 6 points  Romania 5 points  Russia 4 points  Latvia 3 points  Germany 2 points  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 point  Ukraine

See also

• Eurovision Song Contest 2006
• Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest