Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf, Germany with the song "Lipstick" performed by Jedward. The song was selected by the Irish public through the national final Eurosong 2011 competition, organised by the Irish broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann.
Before Eurovision
Eurosong 2011
Eurosong 2011 was the national final format developed by RTÉ in order to select Ireland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. The competition was broadcast as a special edition of The Late Late Show held on 11 February 2011 and hosted by Ryan Tubridy.Competing entries
On 26 November 2010, it was announced that RTÉ would make changes to the format for Eurosong in 2011. Instead of an open call for songs as in previous years, RTÉ has approached five music industry professionals to choose and mentor five acts that will take part with separate songs in Eurosong 2011. The mentors were:- Caroline Downey-Desmond, director of MCD and event producer
- David Hayes, musical director and arranger
- Liam Lawton, composer and performer
- Ronan Hardiman, composer
- Willie Kavanagh, chairman of EMI Music Ireland
| Mentor | Artist | Song | Writers |
| Caroline Downey-Desmond | Jedward | "Lipstick" | Dan Priddy, Lars Jensen, Martin Larson |
| Ronan Hardiman | Don Mescall | "Talking with Jennifer" | Ronan Hardiman, Don Mescall |
| David Hayes | Nikki Kavanagh | "Falling" | Christina Schilling, Camilla Gottschalck, Jonas Gladnikoff, Hanif Sabzevari |
| Willie Kavanagh | Bling | "Shine On" | Patrick Mahoney |
| Liam Lawton | The Vard Sisters | "Send Me An Angel" | Liam Lawton |
Final
The final took place 11 February 2011. Five entries competed and the winner, "Lipstick" performed by Jedward, was determined by the combination of a public vote and a regional jury vote from six regions in Ireland: Waterford, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Sligo and Dublin. Unlike in the previous years, the jury's choice had a bigger impact on the final result. Each jury region awarded 12, 10, 8, 6 and 4 points to their top 5 songs, while the public vote awarded 36, 30, 24, 18 and 12 points to their top 5 songs, having the weighting equal to the votes of three juries.Former Irish Eurovision winner, Niamh Kavanagh, also attended the final.
Gallery
At Eurovision
Jedward qualified from the second semi-final and came 8th in the final, with 119 points It was Ireland's best result since 2000 when they finished 6th. It was also Ireland's first time receiving 12 points in a final since Eurovision 2003, they received 3 sets from Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom.Split results
- In the Semi-final 2 Ireland came 8th with 68 points: the public awarded Ireland 6th place with 78 points and the jury awarded 10th place with 66 points.
- In the Final Ireland came 8th with 119 points: the public awarded Ireland 10th place with 101 points and the jury awarded 6th place with 119 points.
Points awarded by Ireland
Semi-final 2
Final
| 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 |