Country Ireland Selection date(s) 3 March 1996 Selected song "The Voice" | Selection process National Final Selected entrant Eimear Quinn Final result 1st, 162 points | |
Eimear Quinn represented Ireland in the 1996 Eurovision Song Contest after winning the national selection contest, which was held on 3 March 1996 at the Point Theatre in Dublin. Hosted by Pat Kenny, the contest featured eight songs, with the winning song being selected by ten regional juries.
As part of the EBU's scheme to limit the growing number of countries wishing to participate, audio recordings of the entries were sent to juries in each participating country some weeks before the contest. The juries listened to the songs, and awarded points to their ten favorites. Of the 29 countries wishing to participate (host country Norway was exempt from the process), only the 22 highest-scorers were allowed to perform in the contest. In this pre-qualifying round, "The Voice" came in 2nd place with 187 points, and confirmed an Irish presence in Oslo that year.
Quinn performed 17th in the running order on the night of the contest. "The Voice" went on to win with 162 points, giving Ireland its seventh overall victory, and its fourth in five years.