56	57	58	59
60	61	62	63	64	65	66	67	68	69
70	71	72	73	74	75	76	77	78	79
80	81	82	83	84	85	86	87	88	89
90	91	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99
00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09
10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21

No country has had more Eurovision Song Contest wins than Ireland. Ireland dominated the competition in the 1990s, and defined the sound of that decade (synth pipes, prop bodhráns, and nauseating ballads). It is fair to say that we are not big fans of this sound. Nor are we keen on their previous incarnation: the mournful croon of the sickeningly slick Johnny Logan. These two phases of Irish Eurovision history were wildly popular with the European voters yet bottom-puckeringly awful to our own musical sensibilities. Ireland have therefore become one of our least favourite Eurovision nations. That most of their early entries were on the naff side too has not helped Ireland's reputation with us. But now and again they have confounded our expectations. By some miracle we have even managed to cobble together a top ten of their songs (although it was a struggle in comparison with most of the top ten nations). The grid above highlights two clear runs of form: the first is more by luck than judgement, and represents the dregs of our list, but the second contains the two years when Ireland really got it right: when they actually gave us two genuinely great songs (both of which were good enough to have featured in our 1970s top ten). In the 2000s they started dabbling on novelty shores, and we got two helpings of Jedward for our sins. Since then, though, Ireland have struggled to make it past the semi-finals, with some rather lacklustre entries.

	1pt	1969	AV: 13th Eur: =7th
	Muriel Day - "The Wages of Love"
	A bouncy, jaunty little number, but quite forgettable save for being a bearable Irish entry (not that all Irish entries are bad, there are some great ones, and they're all here...).
	2pts	1971	AV: unplaced Eur: =11th
	Angela Farrell - "One Day Love"
	Rather a dull song, really, but with a passionate and spirited bridge that spits out questions like "How many times have you cheated and lied with a look of deceit in your eyes?"
	3pts	1968	AV: 8th Eur: 4th
	Pat McGeegan - "Chance of a Lifetime"
	This man looks as Irish as any you might care to meet, in his emerald green jacket, yellow polo-neck and Woganish hair. The song itself is a simple and perfectly pleasant ballad, but its inclusion in this list is more for scale than for quality.
	4pts	1982	AV: 2nd Eur: 11th
	The Duskeys - "Here Today Gone Tomorrow"
	Ireland go to the disco in search of the Bucks Fizz dollar, yet retain that cheesy Irish wholesomeness we've come to expect. It's quite a fun, upbeat number, but the Nolans would do it so much better.
	5pts	1977	AV: unplaced Eur: 3rd
	The Swarbriggs Plus Two - "It's Nice to Be in Love Again"
	It's testament to the wonder that was 1977 that even the Irish entry was some good. Just as in 1982 Ireland were going for the Bucks Fizz vote, so in 1977 they were seeking to emulate the Brotherhood of Man. And they do it well, because they're not quite as irritating, but it's still essentially a Brotherhood of Man song, and we could do without that sort of thing really: far too wholesome.
	6pts	1970	AV: 3rd Eur: 1st
	Dana - "All Kinds of Everything"
	Ireland's first victory is exceptionally twee. But there's something of the Björk about Dana and as sickly as the song is, it has a kind of silly charm and some curious lyrics to keep it afloat.
	7pts	1984	AV: 1st Eur: 2nd
	Linda Martin - "Terminal 3"
	When we hear the name "Noel Kelehan", our first emotion is one of deep sympathy for a man who has to constantly conduct crap. Then we brace ourselves. When we hear the name "Johnny Logan" we cry a little inside. Johnny Logan wrote this entry, though fortunately he let someone else perform it. The astonishing thing is that it is not dreadful. Now and again Ireland confound our expectations, even Mr Logan. Here he tries his hand at updating Abba, throwing in some Bonnie Tyler rawk for good measure. The result is a little cracker. By no means is it a great song or a classic of our age, but it did enough to win in a year of interesting but middling songs.
	8pts	2011	AV: 1st Eur: 8th
	Jedward - "Lipstick"
	Who would've thought that the one saving grace of the disappointing 2011 contest would be the Irish entry? Identical twins John and Edward Grimes donned the sort of shoulder protection normally reserved for Brian Blessed, and bounced about the stage to a Rachel Stevens number in a manner that suggested Vic and Bob at a Laibach gig. You wouldn't want to be their teacher. Their effort saved an otherwise somewhat disappointing night, but to speak in such terms is to do this number a disservice. "Lipstick" is good fun whatever the year, and deserving of this top three place (where it keeps impressive company).
	10pts	1979	AV: 4th Eur: 5th
	Cathal Dunne - "Happy Man"
	Cathal Dunne is a "Happy Man". Songs about being happy have a tendency to appear insincere. But Cathal is in love and he's alive and he's got the sun inside. He is undoubtedly a Happy Man, a point which he repeatedly hammers home with relentless, pounding joy bursting forth from the core of his very beard. And yet one cannot escape the slight quaver in his voice... perhaps he protests his happiness too much? Whatever the state of his emotions, they make for something beautiful. Ireland should give us more little beardy men...
	12pts	1978	AV: 2nd Eur: 5th
	Colm C. T. Wilkinson - "Born to Sing"
	Musicals star Colm Wilkinson put on his best Glen Campbell underpants and seemingly took some sort of banned stimulant for his manic performance. In his velvet suit he looks like a particularly rabid rodent as he jerks about doing something a little reminiscent of Gentle Ben and very much like something Jimmy Webb might've written. Two amazing little beardy men in a row for Ireland, but this one isn't choking back some secret sorrow; this one is thrusting his passion forth and wiggling it around for all to see. The wholesome, housewifish backing vocalists are on hand to stop Colm getting too emotional (as they were for Cathal too) but nothing can stop a man who was born to sing, no matter how hard he may try to restrain himself (after all: he couldn't stop the music though he tried with all his might).