| Contest: | Junior |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Preselection Date: | Artist: 8 October 2023 Song: 27 October 2023 |
| Entrant: | Jessica McKean |
| Song: | Aisling |
| Final Result: | 16th, 42 points |
Ireland competed in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023, which was held on 26 November 2023 in Nice, France.[1] Irish broadcaster TG4 again used the televised national final Junior Eurovision Éire to select the artist, which was won by Jessica McKean. Her song, "Aisling", was released on 27 October.
Ireland performed fourth in the running order, following the entry from Ukraine and preceding the entry from the United Kingdom. In a reversal of fortune from 2022, Ireland achieved its first last placing ever in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in sixteenth place with 42 points.
See main article: article and Ireland in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest. Prior to the 2023 contest, Ireland had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest seven times since its debut in .[2] In 2022, Sophie Lennon represented Ireland with the song "Solas". She finished 4th with 150 points and achieved Ireland's best result ever.[3]
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 2023. Louise Cantillon returned to host the show for the third time in a row, with Darragh Ó Caoimh serving as a co-host for the second year in a row. 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.
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 Kavanagh | "In Your Eyes" | 1 | 187 | |||
| "It's for You" | 9 | 67 | 23 | 25 | ||
| Mickey Joe Harte | "We've Got the World" | 11 | 53 | |||
| Brian Kennedy | "Every Song Is a Cry for Love" | 9 | 79 | 10 | 93 | |
| Ryan O'Shaughnessy | "Together" | 6 | 179 | 16 | 136 | |
| Brooke Scullion | "That's Rich" | 15 | 47 | colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ||
| Conor O'Donohoe (Wild Youth) | "We Are One" | 12 | 10 |
The first heat was broadcast on 3 September 2023, with Brooke Scullion as the guest judge. Gilian Brennan received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Liza O'Neil and Sophia Connolly Deane advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Liza as the winner, granting her a spot in the semi-final.[4]
| Artist | Song | Stars | Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liza O'Neil | "Driver's Licence" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Sing-off | |
| 2 | Gilian Brennan | "And I Am Telling You" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Semi-final | |
| 3 | Lottie O'Driscol Murray | "Ghost" | 7 | 9 | 9 | 25 | Eliminated | |
| 4 | Sophia Connolly Deane | "When the Party's Over" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 28 | Sing-off | |
| 5 | Alanna Manton | "New York" | 8 | 9 | 7 | 24 | Eliminated | |
| 6 | Kiefer Byrne | "Leave A Light On" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | Eliminated |
| Artist | Song | Votes | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liza O'Neil | "Driver's Licence" | 2 | Semi-final | |
| 2 | Sophia Connolly Deane | "When the Party's Over" | 1 | Eliminated |
The second heat was broadcast on 10 September 2023, with Niamh Kavanagh as the guest judge. Clare Keeley received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Jessica McKean and Charlotte Mackey advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Jessica as the winner, granting her a spot in the semi-final.[5]
| Artist | Song | Stars | Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessica McKean | "I Will Always Love You" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 | Sing-off | |
| 2 | Clare Keeley | "Symphony" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Semi-final | |
| 3 | Michaela Grey | "Take Me to Church" | 6 | 8 | 7 | 21 | Eliminated | |
| 4 | Kyla & Nicole Fox | "Ghost" | 8 | 7 | 7 | 22 | Eliminated | |
| 5 | Charlotte Mackey | "September Song" | 7 | 9 | 7 | 23 | Sing-off | |
| 6 | Abiha Mansoor | "Halo" | 6 | 6 | 10 | 22 | Eliminated |
| Artist | Song | Votes | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessica McKean | "I Will Always Love You" | 2 | Semi-final | |
| 2 | Charlotte Mackey | "September Song" | 1 | Eliminated |
The third heat was broadcast on 17 September 2023, with Ryan O'Shaughnessy as the guest judge. Ellen McGloughlin received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Niamh Beatrix Smith and Grace Ruane advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Niamh Beatrix as the winner, granting her a spot in the semi-final.[6]
| Artist | Song | Stars | Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ellen McGloughlin | "Perfect" | 8 | 10 | 8 | 26 | Semi-final | |
| 2 | Niamh Beatrix Smith | "Counting Stars" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Sing-off | |
| 3 | Lara Gleeson | "If I Could Turn Back Time" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | Eliminated | |
| 4 | Grace Ruane | "Stay with Me" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | Sing-off | |
| 5 | MJ Kearin | "Spotlight" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 24 | Eliminated | |
| 6 | Amy Cotter | "These Days" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | Eliminated |
| Artist | Song | Votes | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Niamh Beatrix Smith | "Counting Stars" | 2 | Semi-final | |
| 2 | Grace Ruane | "Stay with Me" | 1 | Eliminated |
The fourth heat was broadcast on 24 September 2023, with Conor O'Donohoe as the guest judge. Sarah Burke received the highest number of stars and advanced directly to the semi-final, while Juliette Maguire and Lily-May Markham advanced to the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Juliette as the winner, granting her a spot in the semi-final.[7]
| Artist | Song | Stars | Result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juliette Maguire | "Chandelier" | 7 | 8 | 6 | 21 | Sing-off | |
| 2 | Sarah Burke | "A Million Goodbyes" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | Semi-final | |
| 3 | Sophie O'Grady | "Castles" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Eliminated | |
| 4 | Lily-May Markham | "Nervous" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | Sing-off | |
| 5 | Teagan Nolan | "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 | Eliminated | |
| 6 | Mary-Kate McSorley | "Can't Help Falling In Love" | 6 | 8 | 6 | 20 | Eliminated |
| Artist | Song | Votes | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lily-May Markham | "Nervous" | 1 | Eliminated | |
| 2 | Juliette Maguire | "Chandelier" | 2 | Semi-final |
The semi-final was broadcast on 1 October 2023, with Brian Kennedy as the guest judge. Clare Keeley and Niamh Beatrix Mith were both chosen by the jury to advance directly to the final. Jessica McKean and Liza O'Neil were both chosen to go through the sing-off stage and performed their covers a second time. After their second performances, the jury members selected Jessica as the winner, granting her a spot in the final.[8]
| Artist | Song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessica McKean | "Skinny Love" | Sing-off | |
| 2 | Clare Keeley | "Chandelier" | Finalist | |
| 3 | Liza O'Neil | "Eyes Closed" | Sing-off | |
| 4 | Juliette Maguire | "Wake Me Up" | Eliminated | |
| 5 | Gillian Brennan | "Grace" | Eliminated | |
| 6 | Niamh Beatrix Smith | "Radioactive" | Finalist | |
| 7 | Ellen McGloughlin | "Lost Without You" | Eliminated | |
| 8 | Sarah Burke | "The Joker and the Queen" | Eliminated |
| Artist | Song | Votes | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jessica McKean | "Skinny Love" | 2 | Finalist | |
| 2 | Liza O'Neil | "Eyes Closed" | 1 | Eliminated |
The final took place on 8 October 2023, with Mickey Joe Harte 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 second year in a row, the winner was selected exclusively by public online vote that ran on the TG4 Junior Eurovision website from 1 October, after the semi-final was broadcast, until the end of a 15-minute voting period during the final broadcast.[9] The final had an average viewership of 19,700, and a total viewership of 104,000.[10]
| Draw | Song | Draw | ESC Song | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica McKean | 1 | "Always" | 4 | "Hold Me Now" | |
| Clare Keeley | 2 | "Someone You Loved" | 5 | "Why Me?" | |
| Niamh Beatrix Smith | 3 | "Waiting For Love" | 6 | "Together" |
The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2023 took place at Palais Nikaïa in Nice, France on 26 November 2023.
At the end of the show, Ireland received 8 points from juries and 34 points from online voting, placing sixteenth out of sixteen. This was Ireland's first last place in the history of the contest.[11]
The following members comprised the Irish jury:[12]
| + | |||||||||
| Draw | Country | Juror A | Juror B | Juror C | Juror D | Juror E | Average Rank | Points Awarded | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 7 | 11 | |||
| 02 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 11 | 14 | |||
| 03 | 4 | 12 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 3 | ||
| 04 | |||||||||
| 05 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 7 | 4 | ||
| 06 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 10 | 1 | ||
| 07 | 3 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 13 | |||
| 08 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 09 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 10 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 1 | 15 | 12 | |||
| 11 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 12 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 13 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 4 | 7 | ||
| 14 | 10 | 1 | 9 | 5 | 13 | 6 | 5 | ||
| 15 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 15 | |||
| 16 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 8 |