Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018
Ireland participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018, which took place on 25 November 2018 in Minsk, Belarus. The Irish broadcaster TG4 is responsible for organising their entry for the contest through a national selection show entitled Junior Eurovision Éire. The national final took place on 11 November 2018, while the semifinals took place between 14 October and 4 November. This was Ireland's fourth appearance at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
Background
Prior to the 2018 Contest, Ireland had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest three times since its debut in. TG4 previously attempted to participate at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2014, but required funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, which was rejected.Before Junior Eurovision
The Irish broadcaster was included in the final list of participants of the EBU, which revealed that they would be participating at Junior Eurovision for the third time in their history. The mechanism for selecting their entrant and song was through the national selection show Junior Eurovision Éire, like in their three other appearances. The selection process is scheduled to take place every Sunday starting on 14 October, where thirty-two participants competed, and culminated into a final which took place on 11 November 2018.Jury members
''Junior Eurovision Éire''
Semi Final 1
The first semi final was broadcast on 14 October 2018, in which Ryan O'Shaughnessy was the guest judge and the opening act.| Draw | Artist | Song | Result | Number of stars |
| 01 | Saibh Skelly | "Grian is Gealach le chéile" | Final Duel | 13 |
| 02 | Katie O'Connor | "Creidim i nGrá" | Eliminated | 11 |
| 03 | Jessica Doolan | "Aisling" | Final Duel | 15 |
| 04 | Faith Robinson | "Damhsa" | Eliminated | 11 |
| 05 | Grace O'Dwyer | "Ár nDomhan Beag" | Eliminated | 11 |
| 06 | Na Dynamos | "Fan Liom" | Eliminated | 11 |
| 07 | Kailen Garrett | "Mo Chuid Féin" | Eliminated | 11 |
Saibh Skelly and Jessica Doolan both advanced to the final duel stage and performed their songs for the second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Jessica Doolan as the winner of this semi-final and she advanced to the grand final on 11 November.
Semi Final 2
The second semi final was broadcast on 21 October 2018, in which Linda Martin was the guest judge and Aimee Banks was the opening act.| Draw | Artist | Song | Result | Number of stars |
| 01 | Cailíní K.L.L. | "Grá go deo" | Eliminated | 10 |
| 02 | Sarah Kenny | "Áit ar bith ach anseo" | Final Duel | 13 |
| 03 | Julie Cole | "Fadhb" | Eliminated | 12 |
| 04 | David Bradley | "Bí cróga" | Eliminated | 12 |
| 05 | Kerry Ann McCreery | "Tóg mo lámh" | Final Duel | 13 |
| 06 | Ellen Keane | "Tusa amháin" | Eliminated | 12 |
| 07 | Erín Ní Rosach | "Cuireann tú isteach orm" | Eliminated | 10 |
Sarah Kenny and Kerry Ann Mc Creery advanced to the final duel stage and performed their songs for the second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Kerry Ann McCreery as the winner of this semi-final, making her advance to the grand final on 11 November.
Semi Final 3
The third semi-final was broadcast on 28 October 2018, in which Brian Kennedy was the guest judge and Zena Donnelly was the opening act.| Draw | Artist | Song | Result | Number of stars |
| 01 | Saoirse Lynch | "Ar aghaidh linn" | Eliminated | 11 |
| 02 | Jemma Seery | "Níos láidre le chéile" | Eliminated | 11 |
| 03 | Anna and Ava | "Táimid le chéile" | Final Duel, Wildcard | 13 |
| 04 | Skye Murphy Darrer | "Dúchas" | Eliminated | 12 |
| 05 | Cora Harkin | "Cibé saol atá romham" | Final Duel | 15 |
| 06 | Taylor Lily Bulter | "D'amhrán" | Eliminated | 10 |
| 07 | Ciara Doherty | "Creid" | Eliminated | 11 |
Anna and Ava and Cora Harkin advanced to the final duel stage and performed their songs for the second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Cora Harkin as the winner of this semi-final, making her advance to the grand final on 11 November.
Semi Final 4
The fourth semi-final was broadcast on 4 November, in which Dustin the Turkey was the guest judge and Muireann McDonnell was the opening act.| Draw | Artist | Song | Result | Number of stars |
| 01 | Taylor Hynes | "I.O.U." | Final Duel, Wildcard | 13 |
| 02 | Aoibhinn Ní Craoibhínn | "Misneach" | Eliminated | 12 |
| 03 | Aisling Mullarkey | "Is Déagóir Mé" | Eliminated | 12 |
| 04 | Shaniah Llane Rollo | "Cuimhnigh ar na Réaltaí" | Final Duel | 15 |
| 05 | Fia Lynn | "Éist Linn" | Eliminated | 10 |
| 06 | Ella Meakin Griffin | "Samhlaigh Liom" | Eliminated | 12 |
| 07 | Aoife McNerney | "Mo Ghrá, Mo Shaol" | Eliminated | 11 |
Taylor Hynes and Shaniah Llane Rollo advanced to the final duel of the show. After performing for a second time, the judges decided that Shaniah would advance to the final.
Final
The grand final was broadcast on 11 November. Niamh Kavanagh was the guest judge for this round.| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 01 | Jessica Doolan | "Aisling" | Eliminated |
| 02 | Taylor Hynes | "I.O.U." | Final Duel |
| 03 | Cora Harkin | "Cibé saol atá romham" | Eliminated |
| 04 | Shaniah Llane Rollo | "Cuimhnigh ar na Réaltaí" | Final Duel |
| 05 | Anna and Ava | "Táimid le chéile" | Eliminated |
| 06 | Kerry Ann McCreery | "Tóg mo lámh" | Eliminated |
Final Duel
For the final, a sing-off was introduced between the top two contenders.| Draw | Artist | Song | Result |
| 01 | Shaniah Llane Rollo | "Cuimhnigh ar na Réaltaí" | Runner-up |
| 02 | Taylor Hynes | "I.O.U." | Winner |
Artist and song information
Taylor Hynes
Taylor Hynes is an Irish child singer. He represented Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song "IOU". He previously entered Junior Eurovision Eire in 2016, where he failed to make the final. He returned to the selection in 2018 and came second in his heat, however a day after his heat was broadcast, he was leaked by Belarusian TV as Ireland's Junior Eurovision entrant. He was born in Dublin, but currently lives in Clonee.IOU
IOU is a song by Irish child singer Taylor Hynes. It represented Ireland at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018. The music video clip features Hynes alongside Eurovision winner Niamh Kavanagh and 2018 Irish entrant Ryan O'Shaughnessy.At Junior Eurovision
During the opening ceremony and the running order draw which both took place on 19 November 2018, Ireland was drawn to perform ninth on 25 November 2018, following Belarus and preceding Serbia.Voting
The results of the 2018 Junior Eurovision Song Contest were determined by national juries and an online audience vote. Every country had a national jury that consisted of three music industry professionals and two kids aged between 10 and 15 who are citizens of the country they represent. This jury were asked to judge each contestant based on: vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. In addition, no member of a national jury could be related in any way to any of the competing acts in such a way that they cannot vote impartially and independently. The first phase of the online voting started on 23 November 2018 when a recap of all the rehearsal performances were shown on junioreurovision.tv before the viewers can vote. After this, voters also had the option to watch longer one-minute clips from each participant’s rehearsal. This first round of voting stopped on Sunday, 25 November, at 15:59 CET. The second phase of the online voting took place during the live show and started right after the last performance and was open for 15 minutes. International viewers can vote for a minimum of three countries and a maximum of five. They can also vote for their own country’s song. These votes were then be turned into points which were determined by the percentage of votes received. For example, if a song receives 20% of the votes, thus it receives 20% of the available points. The public vote counts for 50% of the final result, while the other 50% comes from the professional juries.Points awarded to Ireland
- Ireland received 36 points from Online voting.
Points awarded by Ireland
| 12 points | |
| 10 points | |
| 8 points | |
| 7 points | |
| 6 points | |
| 5 points | |
| 4 points | |
| 3 points | |
| 2 points | |
| 1 point |