Four singers selected for Junior Eurovision Éire final

The fourth and final semi-final of Junior Eurovision Éire was broadcast last night, meaning we now know the first four singers that will take part in the final. The final line-up isn’t complete yet though. Two wildcards are still yet to be selected for the final.

An all-girl final so far

Currently, the four singers that have been selected for the final have all been girls – will any of the wildcards be boys or will it be an all-girl final?

Jessica Doolan won the first semi-final with the song “Aisling”. Kerry Ann McCreery was victorious in the second semi-final with the her “Tóg mo lámh”. In the third semi-final, it was Cora Harkin who won with her song “Cibé saol atá romham”. Last night, Shaniah Llane Rollo won the final semi-final with her song, “Cuimhnigh ar na Réaltaí”. 

These four girls will perform these songs again in the final, which will be broadcaster this Sunday (11th November). As mentioned before, they will be joined by two wildcards who will be selected from the non-qualifiers from over all four semi-finals to bring the number of finalists up to six.

Some familiar faces to Eurovision helped to select the finalists for the national final, including Ireland’s participant this year – Ryan O’Shaughnessy, their 1992 winner – Linda Martin, their 2006 participant – Brian Kennedy and their 2008 non-qualifying participant – Dustin the Turkey. They have been on the jury alongside Fiachna O Braonain and Grainne Bleasdale. 

Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

Ireland first took part in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in 2015, when they were represented by Aimee Banks, with her song “Réalta na mara”. They finished 12th on their debut, with 36 points. 

Zena Donnelly then represented the country in 2016, scoring their best position in their history in the contest, with the song “Brice ar bhríce”, which finished in 10th place with 122 points.

Last year, Muireann McDonnell represented Ireland with the song “Súile glasa” (which was the first Irish entry to be performed entirely in Irish). It finished second-to-last with 54 points, only scoring more than Cyprus. You can listen to Muireann’s entry again below:

Are you going to be watching the Irish national final this Sunday? Who do you think should be brought back to the final as a wildcard? Do you have a favourite?

Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA.