# Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 1968

Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1968 with the song "Chance of a Lifetime", written by John Kennedy, and performed by Pat McGeegan. The Irish participating broadcaster, Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final.
The contestants in the Irish National Final were decided by two semi-finals, where three were chosen from the first which was held on 6 February with the second being held on 20 February. The Final was held on 3 March 1968 and was broadcast on RTÉ TV from Dublin. All three shows were hosted by Brendan O'Reilly.

## Before Eurovision
### National Song Contest

The fourth National Song Contest consisted of two semi-finals and a final, held by Radio Telefís Éireann (RTÉ) in its studios in Dublin, hosted by Brendan O'Reilly. This was the first time that an Irish national final had a semi-final and remained the only time until 1996.

#### Competing Entries

RTÉ opened a submission period for composers to submit songs between 27 October 1967 and 1 January 1968. Composers had to be Irish-born or live in Ireland and could only submit a maximum of two songs each. RTÉ selected 16 songs from the received submissions.
| Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) |
| Alma Carroll | "Give Me All Your Love" | Joe Burkett |
| Anna McGoldrick | "Gleann Na Smól" | Stephen Redmond S.J. |
| Anne Bushnell | "Ballad to a Boy" | Frank Dunne, Dolores Rockett |
| Dawn Knight | "Why?" | Mary MacDonagh |
| Deirdre Wynne | "Woman Beside the Phone" | Sean Fitzpatrick |
| Frances McDermott | "Since the Spring" | Sean Byrne |
| Frankie McBride | "You're Not There at All" | Hedley Kay |
| Gregory | "You Can't Have Everything" | John McBreen, Eamon O'Shea |
| Joan Connolly | "Grown Up World" | Séamus Fox |
| Leslie Cooke | "Happy" | Peter O'Brien |
| Pat Lynch | "Kinsale" | Jack Brierley, George Crosbie |
| Pat McGeegan | "Chance of a Lifetime" | John Kennedy |
| Roly Daniels | "Look for Love" | Andrew Dunne |
| Tina | "One Love Two" | Jim Doherty |
| Tommy Drennan | "If You Love Me" | Michael Reade |
| Tony Kenny | "Bright Butterfly" | Helen Dunne, Dolores Rockett |

#### Semi-Finals

Almost all of the running order and exact results for the semi-finals are unknown. Although three songs were intended to qualify from each semi-final, a mistake where song 'M' ("Gleann Na Smól") was accidentally announced as having qualified instead of song 'N' ("Chance of a Lifetime"), meant that both songs qualified from the second semi-final.
Semi-Final 1 - 6 February 1968 :
| Artist | Song |
| Tony Kenny | "Bright Butterfly" |
| Joan Connolly | "Grown Up World" |
| Leslie Cooke | "Happy" |
| Pat Lynch | "Kinsale" |
| Tina | "One Love Two" |
| Dawn Knight | "Why" |
| Deirdre Wynne | "Woman Beside the Phone" |
| Frankie McBride | "You're Not There at All" |
Semi-Final 2 - 20 February 1968 :
| Draw | Artist | Song |
| 5 | Pat McGeegan | "Chance of a Lifetime" |
| 6 | Anna McGoldrick | "Gleann Na Smól" |
| Unknown | Alma Carroll | "Give Me All Your Love" |
| Unknown | Anne Bushnell | "Ballad to a Boy" |
| Unknown | Tommy Drennan | "If You Love Me" |
| Unknown | Roly Daniels | "Look for Love" |
| Unknown | Frances McDermott | "Since the Spring" |
| Unknown | Gregory | "You Can't Have Everything" |

#### Final

The final was held on 3 March 1968 at the RTÉ studios in Dublin, hosted by Brendan O'Reilly. The results were decided by 10 regional juries.
Final - 3 March 1968 :
| Draw | Artist | Song | Points | Place |
| 1 | Anna McGoldrick | "Gleann Na Smól" | 4 | 5 |
| 2 | Tony Kenny | "Bright Butterfly" | 0 | 7 |
| 3 | Frances McDermott | "Since the Spring" | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | Pat McGeegan | "Chance of a Lifetime" | 15 | 1 |
| 5 | Tina | "One Love Two" | 13 | 3 |
| 6 | Pat Lynch | "Kinsale" | 14 | 2 |
| 7 | Alma Carroll | "Give Me All Your Love" | 12 | 4 |

## At Eurovision

Ireland started at number 14 in the startfield and finished 4th with 18 points.