Ireland entered the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, sending Johnny Logan to the contest with the song "

What's Another Year "What's Another Year" was Irish singer and composer Johnny Logan's first Eurovision Song Contest winning song, achieving success in the 1980 edition of the contest, as well as 's second Eurovision victory. Composed by Shay Healy (who also wrot ...

", written by

Shay Healy Shay Healy (29 March 1943 – 9 April 2021) was an Irish songwriter, broadcaster and journalist. He is best known for his role as host of ''Nighthawks'', a RTÉ Television chat show of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and for composing "What's An ...

Before Eurovision

National final

The Irish national final to select the Irish representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 1980, was held on 9 March 1980 at the

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

Studios in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and was hosted by

Larry Gogan Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment * Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer *Larry Boone ...

. It was organised by the Irish broadcaster of the contest

Raidió Teilifís Éireann Raidi (; ; also written Ragdi; born August, 1938) is a Tibetan politician of the People's Republic of China. He served as a vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008, and the highest ranking Tibeta ...

(RTÉ). Eight songs were performed live to the Irish viewers and listeners, with the winning song being decided by 10 regional juries across the country. The winner went on to win the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, which gave Ireland its second victory, ten years after its first.

At Eurovision

The

Eurovision Song Contest 1980 The Eurovision Song Contest 1980 was the 25th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in The Hague, Netherlands, and was organised by host broadcaster Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) – which agreed to stage the event a ...

was held at the

Congresgebouw The World Forum (originally known as Nederlands Congresgebouw and formerly Nederlands Congres Centrum and World Forum Convention Center) is a concert venue and convention centre in The Hague, Netherlands, near the buildings of the International ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Ireland performed 17th on the night of the contest, following

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and preceding

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Logan received 143 points for his performance, winning the contest for Ireland.

Voting

''Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest''

Among "What's Another Year"'s future honours as a Eurovision evergreen was its inclusion as one of the fourteen competing songs in ''Congratulations'', Eurovision's fiftieth anniversary contest special. It was one of two Irish entries competing to be named the best Eurovision entry of all time, the other being Logan's subsequent winner, " Hold Me Now.". The song was performed second on the night, following the United Kingdom's

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

with "

Congratulations Congratulations may refer to: Film and television *'' Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest'', 2005 television programme to commemorate its fiftieth anniversary Music Albums * ''Congratulations'' (album), an album by ...

" and preceding Israel's

Dana International Sharon Cohen ( he, שרון כהן; born 2 February 1969), professionally known as Dana International ( he, דנה אינטרנשיונל), is an Israeli pop singer. She has released eight albums and three additional compilation albums. She w ...

with "

Diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is clo ...

." Unlike "Hold Me Now," "What's Another Year" failed to make it past the first round, finishing 12th with 74 points.

Voting

References

External links

Irish National Final 1980 page
{{Congratulations (Eurovision)

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1980

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...