Junior Eurovision 2019 - Ireland

We're up to 14th position in our Aussievision Team Rankings of the Junior Eurovision songs of 2019.

Taking out 14th spot is Ireland, with an average ranking of 11th place and three jurors placing the song in their top five.

Get song details and individual rankings and comments below.

The entry

Anna Kearney - Banshee

Ireland will be represented by Anna Kearney, with the song 'Banshee'. She won the country’s national final Junior Eurovision Éire, after signing “Why Me?” by Linda Martin. The shows were pre-recorded and “Banshee” premiered after the final aired. The song is a love song between a Banshee and a mysterious figure. Banshees are witch-like creatures from Celtic Mythology. 

Anna Kearney is 13 -years-old, and she is from County Dublin. She is a seasoned performer, who has appeared on Broadway and at the National Concert Hall in Ireland.

Aussievision Team Rankings

• Alyce - 1st

• Fleur - 2nd

• Liv - 4th

• Guy - 10th

• Emma - 14th

• Aaron - 15th

• Dale - 17th

• Mike - 17th

• Kyriakos - 19th

The comments

My first reaction to this song was “Oh my god this is the sweetest sounding sound about a witch I’ve ever heard!”. I loved this song from the first time I heard it and after doing a little bit of research into the meaning of the song (thanks Granny!) I love this song even more because I understand the meaning of the song. This song just connects with me like none of the other songs do, and the video clip was just another element of wow. Dublin 2020? Yes please! ~ Alyce

Anna has a beautiful voice and it’s lovely to see Irish being sung on the world stage. However I’m not sure how the banshee theme will resonate with young viewers. ~ Emma

This is song is gorgeous and sweet. I really enjoy this song and I think it has the potential to be the winner. Not sure if it’s the Irish in me, but I can really appreciate the traditional singing here. I also really love how this sounds contemporary at the same time. Not sure if this appeals to the masses as it’s entirely in Irish. I don’t care. It’s a beautiful sounding song. ~ Fleur

Much like Wales it's fantastic to see an English speaking nation use their first language. It's a lovely ballad and she's a great little performer, but in a ballad heavy year there feels less to 'grab on' to here. There's a few nice lines in a long drawn out chorus, but other than that and a key change the song has less than others to get juries or the public voting. ~ Dale

Irish ballads are good for Eurovision.... but I was not comfortable with the electronic instrumentation in this song. Maybe I’m a bit old school but I like live instrumentation to be dominant in a track, especially since Ireland’s got such a good style of music to show off. ~ Aaron

Anna certainly doesn’t shriek like a banshee! It’s a lovely whimsical tune and nice display of Irish Gaelic. The message is a sweet and warm blanket that also taps into Irish mythology. Her voice truly is beautiful and I could listen to it all day. Would have liked to see more depth in the instrumentation to take it to the next level. At the moment it is a bit 2D and I think there is room to create more drama and suspense in the last minute. Never too late for a revamp. ~ Liv

Ireland at Junior Eurovision

Ireland made its Junior Eurovision debut in Sofia in 2015 when Aimee Banks sang “Réalta na Mara”. She earned 36 points and finished in 12th place. The following year in Malta, Zena Donnelly was able to do better with her song, “Bríce Ar Bhríce”. She earned 122 points and finished in 10th place. In Georgia in 2017 Muireann McDonnell and her relaxing song “Suile Glasa" took Ireland to the first of two 15th places in a row, and the following year in Minsk saw Ireland represented by Taylor Hynes and his boppy song “IOU” which also came in 15th place.