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

The Lithuanian song remained the Irish favourite in the semi-final and final. The Least Favorite song from the whole contest was the Moldovan, which attracted only 72 votes from the whole of Ireland in the final.

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

Points Awarded to Ireland

See also

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

Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
Participation 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Artists 1960s 1960 to 1964 Butch Moore Dickie Rock Sean Dunphy Pat McGeegan Muriel Day 1970s Dana Angela Farrell Sandie Jones Maxi Tina Reynolds The Swarbriggs Red Hurley The Swarbriggs Plus Two Colm 'C.T.' Wilkinson Cathal Dunne 1980s Johnny Logan Sheeba The Duskeys 1983 Linda Martin Maria Christian Luv Bug Johnny Logan Jump the Gun Kiev Connolly & The Missing Passengers 1990s Liam Reilly Kim Jackson Linda Martin Niamh Kavanagh Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan Eddie Friel Eimear Quinn Marc Roberts Dawn Martin The Mullans 2000s Eamonn Toal Gary O'Shaughnessy 2002 Mickey Harte Chris Doran Donna and Joe Brian Kennedy Dervish Dustin the Turkey Sinéad Mulvey & Black Daisy 2010s Niamh Kavanagh Jedward Ryan Dolan Can-linn feat. Kasey Smith Molly Sterling Nicky Byrne
Songs 1960s 1960 to 1964 "Walking the Streets in the Rain" "Come Back to Stay" "If I Could Choose" "Chance of a Lifetime" "The Wages of Love" 1970s "All Kinds of Everything" "One Day Love" "Ceol an Ghrá" "Do I Dream" "Cross Your Heart" "That's What Friends Are For" "When" "It's Nice To Be In Love Again" "Born to Sing" "Happy Man" 1980s "What's Another Year?" "Horoscopes" "Here Today Gone Tomorrow" 1983 "Terminal 3" "Wait Until the Weekend Comes" "You Can Count On Me" "Hold Me Now" "Take Him Home" "The Real Me" 1990s "Somewhere In Europe" "Could It Be That I'm In Love" "Why Me?" "In Your Eyes" "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" "Dreamin'" "The Voice" "Mysterious Woman" "Is Always Over Now?" "When You Need Me" 2000s "Millennium of Love" "Without Your Love" 2002 "We've Got the World" "If My World Stopped Turning" "Love?" "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" "They Can't Stop the Spring" "Irelande Douze Pointe" "Et Cetera" 2010s "It's for You" "Lipstick" "Waterline" "Only Love Survives" "Heartbeat" "Playing with Numbers" "Sunlight"
(Note: Entries scored out are when Ireland did not compete)