Ireland was represented at the

Eurovision Song Contest 1986 The Eurovision Song Contest 1986 was the 31st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It was held in Bergen, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "La det swinge" by Bobbysocks! Organised by the European Broadcasting Unio ...

with the song "You Can Count On Me", written by Kevin Sheerin, and performed by the group

Luv Bug Luv Bug are a Northern Irish pop band originating from Newry. They are most famous for representing Ireland in the ''Eurovision Song Contest'' in 1986 with the song "You Can Count on Me (Luv Bug song), You Can Count on Me". Career The earlie ...

. The Irish participating broadcaster, (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final.

Before Eurovision

National Song Contest

(RTÉ) held the twenty-first edition of the National Song Contest on 30 March 1986 at its studios in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, hosted by Mike Murphy. Eleven regional juries across Ireland selected the winning song, "You Can Count On Me", performed by the group

and composed by Kevin Sheerin.

At Eurovision

Luv Bug performed twelfth on the night of the contest, following and preceding . At the close of the voting the song had received 96 points, placing 4th in a field of 20 competing countries. This high placing was the third of five straight top ten finishes, and was the run-up to Ireland's win in Brussels the next year.

Voting

References

{{Eurovision Song Contest 1986

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

Countries in the Eurovision Song Contest 1986

Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster submits an origina ...