Junior Eurovision Éire is now complete, with the winner of the competition decided. A total of three finalists competed for the opportunity to represent Ireland at Junior Eurovision this year after four heats and a semi-final in previous weeks.
Each of the finalists performed two songs in the final, one was a song they had previously performed in the competition, and the other a winning Irish Eurovision entry. The jury then chose two participants to continue to the final sing-off, where the winner was chosen.
The jury consisted of Gráinne Bleasdale, who returns for the second year as well as Chris Greene and two guest judges. The first guest was Linda Martin, who represented Ireland at Eurovision in 1983 and won the contest in 1992. Former Junior Eurovision Éire judge Fiachna Ó Braonáin also joined the panel for the final.
The three participants of the final were:
- Anna Kearney – Symphony/Why Me
- Orla McDermott – Linger/Rock ‘n’ Roll Kids
- Savannah Phoenix-Munroe – Circle of Live/Hold Me Now
Anna Kearney and Savannah Phoenix-Munroe continued through to the final-sing off. Savannah received votes from Chris, while Anna scored votes from all three of the other jury members and as a result will represent Ireland at Junior Eurovision this year.
Anna will be singing ‘Banshee’ at Junior Eurovision this year. The song was written by Niall Mooney, Fiachna Ó Braonáin, Anna Banks and Anna Kearney. It was composed by Cyprian Cassar, Jonas Gladnikoff and Daniel Caruana. Both Niall Mooney and Jonas Gladnikoff also wrote the Irish Junior Eurovision entries from 2015 and 2018.
Listen to the entry below: