Ireland won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996 with Eimear Quinn’s “The Voice”.
The 1996 contest was held in Oslo, Norway, on 18 May. Eimear Quinn performed “The Voice”, a Celtic-influenced song written by Brendan Graham. Ireland finished first with 162 points, ahead of Norway and Sweden.
This was Ireland’s seventh victory and its fourth win in five contests. The result came during an exceptionally strong period for Irish Eurovision entries, following victories in 1992, 1993, 1994 and 1996, with Norway winning in 1995.
The 1996 contest also included an audio-only preselection for most competing countries, introduced to reduce the number of finalists. Germany failed to qualify for the final, an unusual result for one of Eurovision’s most consistent participants.