The finalists of Junior Eurovision Éire 2022 have been chosen.
The semi-final of Junior Eurovision Éire 2022 was broadcast tonight, having previously been filmed in RTÉ Studios in Dublin earlier this year. Louise Cantillon returned to host the show for the second year in a row. Joining Louise to present the show this year was Darragh Ó Caoimh. This is the first edition of Junior Eurovision Éire to have two main presenters.
As in previous editions, the results of tonight’s show were decided by an in-studio jury of two permanent members and revolving guest judges. The two permanent judges are:
- Niamh Ní Chróinín – Radio presenter, manager of Irish-language youth radio station Raidió Rí-Rá
- Chris Greene – RTÉ 2fm presenter
The guest judge for this week was Brooke Scullion, who represented Ireland this year in Turin.
The eight contestants each had to perform a Irish-language cover version of a different songs than what they performed in the heats. The judges picked two artists to advance directly to the final. From the six remaining artists, the judges picked a further two to compete in the sing-off for the third spot in the final.
The results were as follows:
- Clare Keeley – “Halo” – Sing-Off
- Sophie Lennon – “Symphony” – Finalist
- Marley-Peig Leonard – “A Million Goodbyes”
- Caillín Joe McDonald – “Hold Back the River”
- Niamh Noade – “Catch and Release” – Finalist
- Lara Gleeson – “Brave” – Sing-Off
- Phoebe McIvor – “Cold Heart”
- Amber Dawes – “Falling Slowly”
Clare and Lara advanced to the sing-off. Clare was chosen by the judges to advance to the final.
Sophie, Niamh and Clare will compete in next week’s final, in which the winner will represent Ireland in Yerevan. For the first time ever, a public vote will decide the winner. The public vote is currently open on the official Irish Junior Eurovision website and will remain open until all three finalists have performed twice in next week’s final. Only one vote is allowed per IP address per day. The voting site can be found here.
Maiú Levi Lawlor represented Ireland at Junior Eurovision 2021 with “Saor (Disappear)”. He finished 18th with 44 points. This is the worst result to date for Ireland in the competition.
Image Source: TG4
Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest
Ireland debuted in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest at the 2015 contest in Sofia, Bulgaria. The nation’s participation is organised by the Irish language broadcaster TG4. At the 2015 contest in Bulgaria Ireland was represented by Aimee Banks with the song “Réalta na Mara”, she finished 12th in the final. The country’s best result came at the 2016 contest in Malta. Ireland was represented by Zena Donnelly with the song “Bríce ar Bhríce”. She finished 10th in the final scoring a total of 122 points, including receiving the country’s first 12 points in the contest.
