Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998

Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Is Always Over Now?", written by Gerry Morgan, and performed by Dawn Martin. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final.

Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
Participating broadcaster	Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ)
Country	Ireland
Selection process	Eurosong '98
Selection date	8 March 1998
Competing entry
Song	"Is Always Over Now?"
Artist	Dawn Martin
Songwriter	Gerry Morgan
Placement
Final result	9th, 64 points
Participation chronology
◄1997 • 1998 • 1999►

Before Eurovision

Eurosong '98

Réalta '98

Réalta was a radio song contest started in 1995 by RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltacht exclusively for Irish songs. The first edition of the contest was not related to Eurosong, but from 1996 until 1999, the recent winner of Réalta would qualify to Eurosong.^{[citation needed]} The 4th edition of Réalta took place on 31 December 1997.^[1][2][3] The running order and results of Réalta '98 are unknown.

Artist	Song
Alan Milligan	"Caipín bán"
Art Ó Dufaigh	"Céim ar chéim"
Brendan Monaghan	"Fonn sin i mo cheann"
Caitriona McDermott	"Eist go fóill"
Cathal Ó Cathain	"Lúrabóg larabóg"
Deirdre Ní Chinnéide	"Seo chugainn an samradh"
Diane Ní Chanainn	"Sráideacha"
Melanie O'Reilly	"Chugat an púca"
Micheál Ó hAlluráin	"Galar an cheoil"
Seán Monaghan	"Ina measc"

Final

RTÉ held Eurosong '98 on 8 March 1998 at the RTÉ Television Centre in Dublin, hosted by Pat Kenny. 400 entries were submitted for the competition and eight artists and songs were selected to compete. Votes from ten regional juries determined the winner and after the combination of votes, "Is Always Over Now?" performed by Dawn Martin was selected as the winner.

Final – 8 March 1998

Draw	Artist	Song	Songwriter(s)	Points	Place
1	Dawn Martin	"Is Always Over Now?"	Gerry Morgan	95	1
2	Partners in Crime	"Shine On"	Niall O'Brien-Moran	63	5
3	Ray Doherty	"Cold Shoulder"	Ray Doherty	39	8
4	The Vard Sisters	"Seol"	Liam Lawton	92	2
5	Family	"Save This Dance for Me"	Danny Sheerin, Des Sheerin	57	6
6	Seán Monaghan	"Ina measc"	Sean Monagahan	43	7
7	The Carter Twins	"Make the Change"	Ronan Keating	77	4
8	Jo Collins	"Overload"	Jo Collins	84	3

Detailed Regional Jury Votes

Draw	Song	Athlone	Cork	Dingle	Dublin	Dundalk	Galway	Limerick	Maghery	Sligo	Waterford	Total
1	"Is Always Over Now?"	12	12	10	12	7	10	12	6	8	6	95
2	"Shine On"	5	6	6	6	6	7	7	5	7	8	63
3	"Cold Shoulder"	3	4	3	3	4	5	4	4	4	5	39
4	"Seol"	7	8	12	8	10	8	5	12	10	12	92
5	"Save This Dance for Me"	6	5	5	4	8	4	8	8	5	4	57
6	"Ina measc"	4	3	4	5	3	12	3	3	3	3	43
7	"Make the Change"	10	10	7	7	5	6	6	10	6	10	77
8	"Overload"	8	7	8	10	12	3	10	7	12	7	84

At Eurovision

Dawn performed 13th in the running order on the evening of the contest. "Is Always Over Now?" went on to place 9th with 64 points.^[4] Paul Harrington, who won the contest for Ireland in 1994, performed backing vocals.^{[citation needed]}

Voting

Points awarded to Ireland[5] Score Country 12 points 10 points 8 points  Romania  Turkey  United Kingdom 7 points  Macedonia 6 points  Hungary  Malta 5 points 4 points  Norway  Slovakia 3 points 2 points  Croatia  Estonia  Germany  Poland   Switzerland 1 point  Portugal  Slovenia  Sweden

Points awarded by Ireland[5] Score Country 12 points  Malta 10 points  Netherlands 8 points  Germany 7 points  Belgium 6 points  Israel 5 points  United Kingdom 4 points  Norway 3 points  Croatia 2 points  Sweden 1 point  Estonia