Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977

Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song "It's Nice to Be in Love Again", written by Tommy and Jimmy Swarbrigg, and performed by themselves, along Alma Carroll and Nicola Kerr, under the stage name The Swarbriggs Plus Two. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final. The Swarbriggs had previously represented Ireland in 1975.

Eurovision Song Contest 1977
Participating broadcaster	Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ)
Country	Ireland
National selection
Selection process	National Final
Selection date(s)	20 February 1977
Selected artist(s)	The Swarbriggs Plus Two
Selected song	"It's Nice to Be in Love Again"
Selected songwriter(s)	Tommy Swarbrigg Jimmy Swarbrigg
Finals performance
Final result	3rd, 119 points
Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest
◄1976 • 1977 • 1978►

Before Eurovision

National final

Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) held the national final at its studios in Dublin, hosted by Mike Murphy. Eight songs took part, with the winner chosen by voting from ten regional juries. Other participants included past and future Irish representatives Dickie Rock (1966) and Colm C. T. Wilkinson (1978), while future Eurovision winner Linda Martin (1992) performed as a member of the group Chips.^[1]

Draw	Artist	Song	Points	Place
1	Jamie Stone	"If I Give My Love"	19	2
2	Dickie Rock	"I Can't Go On Without You"	8	6
3	Sunshine	"Look Before You Leap"	0	8
4	D. J. Curtin	"You Cannot Stop the Music"	5	7
5	The Swarbriggs Plus Two	"It's Nice to Be in Love Again"	25	1
6	Denis Allen	"Da-Dum Da-Dum, I Love You So"	12	5
7	Colm C. T. Wilkinson	"There Was a Dream"	18	3
8	Chips	"Goodbye Goodbye"	13	4

At Eurovision

On the night of the final the group performed first in the running order, preceding Monaco. Pre-contest betting rated Ireland as one of the front runners, along with the entries from Belgium, Germany, and the United Kingdom. At the close of voting "It's Nice to Be in Love Again" had picked up 119 points, placing Ireland third of the 18 entries, the country's best placement since Dana's victory seven years earlier.^[2] The song had gained four maximum 12s – from Israel, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom – with only Finland failing to award it any points at all. It was therefore somewhat ironic that the Irish jury awarded its 12 points to Finland.^[3]

Voting

Points awarded to Ireland[4] Score Country 12 points  Israel  Norway  Sweden  United Kingdom 10 points  France  Greece 8 points  Italy  Luxembourg  Monaco   Switzerland 7 points 6 points 5 points  Austria  Germany 4 points  Spain 3 points  Belgium 2 points 1 point  Netherlands  Portugal

Points awarded by Ireland[4] Score Country 12 points  Finland 10 points  France 8 points  Italy 7 points  Israel 6 points   Switzerland 5 points  Monaco 4 points  Belgium 3 points  Netherlands 2 points  Luxembourg 1 point  Germany

References

1. "IRISH NATIONAL FINAL 1977". natfinals.50webs.com. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
2. "Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
3. ESC History Eurovision - Ireland 1977
4. "Results of the Final of London 1977". European Broadcasting Union. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2021.