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 artist(s) | 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 | ||||
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Ireland’s entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 was "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" by Brian Kennedy.
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.
Before Eurovision
Internal selection
Brian Kennedy was selected to sing for the country internally by national broadcaster RTÉ.
National final
Irish television viewers selected the entry Kennedy 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.
| Final – 17 February 2006 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | Song | Songwriter(s) | Place |
| 1 | "The Greatest Song of All" | Jimmy MacCarthy | 3 |
| 2 | "All Over the World" | Don Mescall | 2 |
| 3 | "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" | Brian Kennedy | 1 |
At Eurovision
Because Ireland failed to qualify in 2005 Brian was forced to compete in the Eurovision semi-final,Ireland performed 8th, following Belgium and preceding the Cyprus Ireland qualified to the final, placing 9th in the semi-final and scoring 79 points. In the final, he performed 21st following Croatia and preceding the Sweden. He finished ninth in the semifinal and tenth in the final, scoring 93 points, meaning that Ireland automatically qualified for the final in the 2007 contest.
His semifinal performance was the 1000th song performed in Eurovision history.
Points awarded by Ireland
Semi final
|
Final
|
Points awarded to Ireland
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
| 12 points | 10 points | 8 points | 7 points | 6 points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 points | 4 points | 3 points | 2 points | 1 point |
