# Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022

Ireland competed in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022, which was held on 11 December 2022 in Yerevan, Armenia. Irish broadcaster TG4 selected Sophie Lennon to represent the country through the televised national final Junior Eurovision Éire, with the competing song "Solas" being internally selected. Being from County Down, Lennon was the first singer from Northern Ireland to compete at Junior Eurovision.

## Background

Prior to the 2022 contest, Ireland had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest six times since its debut in 2015. In 2019, Anna Kearney represented the country with the song "Banshee", finishing 12th out of 19 entries with 73 points. Despite having initially confirmed their participation in the 2020 contest in Warsaw, Poland in January 2020, TG4 announced in August 2020 that they would not participate in the contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2021 contest, Maiú Levi Lawlor represented country in Paris, France with the song "Saor (Disappear)". He ended 18th out of 19 entries with 44 points.

## Before Junior Eurovision
### Junior Eurovision Éire 2022

Irish broadcaster TG4 once again used the national selection format Junior Eurovision Éire to select its representative. The details of the competition were revealed on 22 August 2022, during the TG4 autumn schedule launch. Louise Cantillon returned to host the show for the second year in a row, with Darragh Ó Caoimh serving as a co-host. This was the first edition of Junior Eurovision Éire to have two main presenters. As in previous editions, an in-studio jury decided the results in the four heats and semi-final. As with the past two editions of the contest, the participants in Junior Eurovision Éire performed Irish-language cover versions of famous songs during the competition.

#### Jury members

As in previous editions, the results of the four heats and semi-final 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
Guest judges :
| Artist | ESC Year(s) | Song(s) | Place (SF) | Points (SF) | Place (Final) | Points (Final) |
| Linda Martin | 1984 | "Terminal 3" | No semi-finals | No semi-finals | 2 | 137 |
| Linda Martin | 1992 | "Why Me?" | No semi-finals | No semi-finals | 1 | 155 |
| Niamh Kavanagh | 1993 | "In Your Eyes" | No semi-finals | No semi-finals | 1 | 187 |
| Niamh Kavanagh | 2010 | "It's for You" | 9 | 67 | 23 | 25 |
| Paul Harrington | 1994 | "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" (with Charlie McGettigan) | No semi-finals | No semi-finals | 1 | 226 |
| Brian Kennedy | 2006 | "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" | 9 | 79 | 10 | 93 |
| Ryan O'Shaughnessy | 2018 | "Together" | 6 | 179 | 16 | 136 |
| Brooke Scullion | 2022 | "That's Rich" | 15 | 47 | Failed to qualify | Failed to qualify |

#### Heat 1

The first heat was broadcast on 18 September 2022, with Niamh Kavanagh as the guest judge. Lara Gleeson received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Calre Keeley and Ella Kelly advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Clare as the winner, granting her a spot in the semi-final.
Heat 1 – 18 September 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Stars | Result |
| 1 | Holly Mountstephens | "Nervous" (Gavin James) | 6 | 6 | 7 | 20 | Eliminated |
| 2 | Clare Keeley | "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 | Sing-off |
| 3 | Harry Moriarty | "This Is Me" (Keala Settle) | 8 | 7 | 6 | 21 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Lara Gleeson | "When the Party's Over" (Billie Eilish) | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | Semi-final |
| 5 | Ella Kelly | "Ghost" (Luane Parle) | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | Sing-off |
| 6 | Grace Whelan | "Linger" (The Cranberries) | 6 | 7 | 8 | 21 | Eliminated |
Sing-off – 18 September 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Votes | Result |
| 1 | Clare Keeley | "I Will Always Love You" (Whitney Houston) | 2 | Semi-final |
| 2 | Ella Kelly | "Ghost" (Luan Parle) | 1 | Eliminated |

#### Heat 2

The second heat was broadcast on 25 September 2022, with Ryan O'Shaughnessy as the guest judge. Amber Dawes received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Marley-Peig Leonard and Éinín Duggun advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Marley-Peig as the winner, granting a spot in the semi-final.
Heat 2 – 25 September 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Stars | Result |
| 1 | Marley-Peig Leonard | "Skinny Love" (Bon Iver) | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Sing-off |
| 2 | Callum Scanlan | "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" (The Script) | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Eliminated |
| 3 | Amber Dawes | "Lost Without You" (Freya Ridings) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Semi-final |
| 4 | Éinín Duggun | "Grace" (Lewis Capaldi) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 23 | Sing-off |
| 5 | Lara Cimic | "Dancing with a Stranger" (Sam Smith and Normani) | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Evan Coogan | "Take My Hand" (Picture This) | 6 | 7 | 6 | 19 | Eliminated |
Sing-off – 25 September 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Votes | Result |
| 1 | Marley-Peig Leonard | "Skinny Love" (Bon Iver) | 2 | Semi-final |
| 2 | Éinín Duggun | "Grace" (Lewis Capaldi) | 1 | Eliminated |

#### Heat 3

The third heat was broadcast on 2 October 2022, with Paul Harrington as the guest judge. Niamh Noade received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Caillín Joe McDonald and Teagan Nolan advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Caillín Joe as the winner, granting a spot in the semi-final.
Heat 3 – 2 October 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Stars | Result |
| 1 | Caillín Joe McDonald | "Shotgun" (George Ezra) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 26 | Sing-off |
| 2 | Teagan Nolan | "Someone You Loved" (Lewis Capaldi) | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 | Sing-off |
| 3 | Niamh Noade | "Lonely World" (Luane Parle) | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 | Semi-final |
| 4 | Savannah Phoenix Munroe | "Good as Hell" (Lizzo) | 6 | 7 | 10 | 23 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Eva O'Farrell | "Castles" (Freya Ridings) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Lucy Heffernan | "Follow Your Fire" (Kodaline) | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Eliminated |
Sing-off – 2 October 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Votes | Result |
| 1 | Caillín Joe McDonald | "Shotgun" (George Ezra) | 2 | Semi-final |
| 2 | Teagan Nolan | "Someone You Loved" (Lewis Capaldi) | 1 | Eliminated |

#### Heat 4

The third heat was broadcast on 9 October 2022, with Linda Martin as the guest judge. Sophie Lennon received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Phoebe McIvor and Lauren Wallace advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Phoebe as the winner, granting a spot in the semi-final.
Heat 4 – 9 October 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Juror 1 | Juror 2 | Juror 3 | Stars | Result |
| 1 | Phoebe McIvor | "Hold Me While You Wait" (Lewis Capaldi) | 8 | 8 | 10 | 26 | Sing-off |
| 2 | Sophie Lennon | "New York" (Paloma Faith) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Semi-final |
| 3 | Holly-May Vaughan | "Stay with Me" (Sam Smith) | 7 | 7 | 9 | 23 | Eliminated |
| 4 | Lauren Wallace | "Always" (Gavin James) | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Sing-off |
| 5 | Gillian Brennan | "Take Me to Church" (Hozier) | 7 | 9 | 8 | 24 | Eliminated |
| 6 | Gavin Gilligan | "Bruises" (Lewis Capaldi) | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | Eliminated |
Sing-off – 9 October 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Votes | Result |
| 1 | Phoebe McIvor | "Hold Me While You Wait" (Lewis Capaldi) | 2 | Semi-final |
| 2 | Lauren Wallace | "Always" (Gavin James) | 1 | Eliminated |

#### Semi-final

The third heat was broadcast on 16 October 2022, with Brooke Scullion as the guest judge. Sophie Lennon and Niamh Noade were both chosen by the jury to advance directly to the final. Clare Keeley and Lara Gleeson were both chosen to go through to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Clare as the winner, granting a spot in the final.
Semi-final – 16 October 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Result |
| 1 | Clare Keeley | "Halo" (Beyoncé) | Sing-off |
| 2 | Sophie Lennon | "Symphony" (Clean Bandit and Zara Larsson) | Finalist |
| 3 | Marley-Peig Leonard | "A Million Goodbyes" (Lea Heart) | Eliminated |
| 4 | Caillín Joe McDonald | "Hold Back the River" (James Bay) | Eliminated |
| 5 | Niamh Noade | "Catch and Release" (Matt Simons) | Finalist |
| 6 | Lara Gleeson | "Brave" (Ella Henderson) | Sing-off |
| 7 | Phoebe McIvor | "Cold Heart (Pnau remix)" (Elton John & Dua Lipa) | Eliminated |
| 8 | Amber Dawes | "Falling Slowly" (Glen Handsard & Markéta Irglová) | Eliminated |
Sing-off – 16 October 2022 :
| Draw | Artist | Song (Original artists) | Votes | Result |
| 1 | Clare Keeley | "Halo" (Beyoncé) | 2 | Finalist |
| 2 | Lara Gleeson | "Brave" (Ella Henderson) | 1 | Eliminated |

#### Final

The final took place on 23 October 2022, with Brian Kennedy as the guest judge. The jury of two permanent members and one rotating member was present once again to give feedback to the contestants, but did not have any voting power. For the first time ever, the winner was selected exclusively by public online vote that ran on the TG4 Junior Eurovision website from 17 October until the end of a 15-minute voting period during the broadcast.
Final – 23 October 2022 :
| Artist | Draw | Song (Original artists) | Draw | ESC Winning Song (Original artists) |
| Clare Keeley | 1 | "Circle of Life" (Elton John) | 4 | "Hold Me Now" (Johnny Logan) |
| Sophie Lennon | 2 | "Leave a Light On" (Tom Walker) | 5 | "Why Me?" (Linda Martin) |
| Niamh Noade | 3 | "Pompeii" (Bastille) | 6 | "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" (Paul Harrington & Charlie McGettigan) |

## At Junior Eurovision

After the opening ceremony, which took place on 5 December 2022, it was announced that Ireland would perform ninth on 11 December 2022, following Georgia and preceding North Macedonia.
In the final, Ireland finished the competition in fourth place with 150 points, including 12 points from both the Maltese and Serbian juries. This marked the best result for Ireland in Junior Eurovision to date.

### Voting

The same voting system that was introduced in the 2017 edition was used, where the results were determined by 50% online voting and 50% jury voting. Every country had a national jury that consisted of three music industry professionals and two children aged between 10 and 15 who were citizens of the country they represented. The rankings of those jurors were combined to make an overall top ten.
The online voting consisted of two phases. The first phase of the online voting began on 9 December 2022 when a recap of all the rehearsal performances was shown on the contest's website Junioreurovision.tv before the viewers could vote. After this, voters also had the option to watch longer one-minute clips from each participant's rehearsal. This first round of voting ended on Sunday 11 December at 15:59 CET. The second phase of the online voting took place during the live show and began right after the last performance and was open for 15 minutes. International viewers were able vote for three songs. They were also able to vote for their own country's song. These votes were then turned into points which were determined by the percentage of votes received. For example, if a song received 10% of the votes, it received 10% of the available points.