Ireland first made their Junior Eurovision debut in 2015, and have since been dedicated to the contest. This year is no exception, with Ireland focused on choosing their 2017 representative through a national selection format.
The national selection has already kicked off, with the Irish broadcaster TG4 revealing that the heats for the selection will air in October. Potential candidates participated in live auditions over the summer, where they had to perform original songs in the Irish language. Over five weeks of broadcasting, the heats will be shown, with each week the number decreasing until the winner is revealed.
The national selection will be hosted by DJ Eoghan McDermott, and the show will feature regular judges Bláthnaid Treacy and Fiachna Ó Braonáin. They will be joined by guest judges Dustin the Turkey (2008), Jedward (2011, 2012), Brian Kennedy (2006), Niamh Kavanagh (1993, 2010), Linda Martin (1984, 1992) and Ireland’s most recent Eurovision participant, Brendan Murray.
Like previous years, the Irish selection was pre-recorded, and the winner has actually already been selected, but the Irish broadcaster is keeping it a secret from eager Eurovision fans until the broadcast. According to sources from TG4 (as commented by the official Junior Eurovision site), the act is incredibly talented, and the broadcaster is working on the look and feel of the performance.
So when can we find out? Here’s the broadcast schedule:
First Semi-Final – 22nd October
Second Semi-Final – 29th October
Third Semi-Final – 5th November
Fourth Semi-Final – 12th November
Grand Final – 19th November
All shows will be broadcast on Sundays at 21:00 CET.
Are you excited to see who will be representing Ireland?
