| Year: | 1998 |
| Broadcaster: | Irish: [[RTÉ|Radio Telefís Éireann]]|i=no (RTÉ) |
| Country: | Ireland |
| Preselection: | Eurosong 1998 |
| Preselection Date: | 8 March 1998 |
| Entrant: | Dawn Martin |
| Song: | Is Always Over Now? |
| Final Result: | 9th, 64 points |
Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Is Always Over Now?", written by Gerry Morgan, and performed by Dawn Martin. The Irish participating broadcaster, Irish: [[RTÉ|Radio Telefís Éireann]]|i=no (RTÉ), selected its entry through a national final.
Réalta was a radio song contest started in 1995 by RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltacht exclusively for Irish songs. The first edition of the contest was not related to Eurosong, but from 1996 until 1999, the recent winner of Réalta would qualify to Eurosong. The 4th edition of Réalta took place on 31 December 1997.[1] [2] [3] The running order and results of Réalta '98 are unknown.
| Artist | Song | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Milligan | "Caipín bán" | - | |
| Art Ó Dufaigh | "Céim ar chéim" | - | |
| Brendan Monaghan | "Fonn sin i mo cheann" | - | |
| Caitriona McDermott | "Eist go fóill" | - | |
| Cathal Ó Cathain | "Lúrabóg larabóg" | - | |
| Deirdre Ní Chinnéide | "Seo chugainn an samradh" | - | |
| Diane Ní Chanainn | "Sráideacha" | - | |
| Melanie O'Reilly | "Chugat an púca" | - | |
| Micheál Ó hAlluráin | "Galar an cheoil" | - | |
| Seán Monaghan | "Ina measc" | 1 |
RTÉ held Eurosong 1998 on 8 March at the RTÉ Television Centre in Dublin, hosted by Pat Kenny. 400 entries were submitted for the competition and eight artists and songs were selected to compete.[4] Votes from ten regional juries determined the winner and after the combination of votes, "Is Always Over Now?" performed by Dawn Martin was selected as the winner.[5]
| Draw | Artist | Song | Songwriter(s) | Points | Place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dawn Martin | "Is Always Over Now?" | Gerry Morgan | 95 | 1 | |
| 2 | Partners in Crime | "Shine On" | Niall O'Brien-Moran | 63 | 5 | |
| 3 | Ray Doherty | "Cold Shoulder" | Ray Doherty | 39 | 8 | |
| 4 | The Vard Sisters | "Seol" | Liam Lawton | 92 | 2 | |
| 5 | Family | "Save This Dance for Me" | Danny Sheerin, Des Sheerin | 57 | 6 | |
| 6 | Seán Monaghan | "Ina measc" | Sean Monagahan | 43 | 7 | |
| 7 | The Carter Twins | "Make the Change" | Ronan Keating | 77 | 4 | |
| 8 | Jo Collins | "Overload" | Jo Collins | 84 | 3 |
| + Detailed Regional Jury Votes | |||||||||||||
| Draw | Song | Total | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Is Always Over Now?" | 12 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 95 | |
| 2 | "Shine On" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 63 | |
| 3 | "Cold Shoulder" | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 39 | |
| 4 | "Seol" | 7 | 8 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 92 | |
| 5 | "Save This Dance for Me" | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 57 | |
| 6 | "Ina measc" | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 43 | |
| 7 | "Make the Change" | 10 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 77 | |
| 8 | "Overload" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 84 |
Dawn performed 13th in the running order on the evening of the contest. Paul Harrington, who won the contest for, performed backing vocals. "Is Always Over Now?" went on to place 9th with 64 points.[6]