Ireland is set to be represented at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 with the song "", written by Ben Pyne, Larissa Tormey, Remy Borsboom and Shauna Carrick, and performed by Caleb Kirwan and Naomi Gribben. The Irish participating broadcaster, TG4, selected Kirwan and Gribben as their representatives through the national final 2026, while the song "" was internally selected.
Background
Prior to the 2026 contest, TG4 had participated in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest representing Ireland ten times since its debut in ; TG4 originally intended to make its debut , but required funding from the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI), which was rejected. Ireland first entered the top ten in , with "" by Zena Donnelly ending up in 10th place out of 17 entries with 122 points; this would remain as Ireland's only top ten entry and its best result until , when the song "" by Sophie Lennon finished 4th with 150 points. In , "" by ended up in 18th (last) place with 44 points; this marked the second last place result for Ireland.
Unlike in the Eurovision Song Contest, where (RTÉ) is the broadcaster representing Ireland, the Irish-language broadcaster TG4, also a full member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is the Irish participating broadcaster in the Junior Eurovision Song Contest.
Before Junior Eurovision
TG4 confirmed its intention to participate in the 2026 contest on 30 January 2026, also revealing that it would once again use the national selection format , co-produced with Adare Productions, to select its artist, and opened the submission process for interested artists aged between nine and fourteen. Auditions for the show took place in Dublin, Cork and Athlone, while the selection process was filmed in the Irish capital during the summer of 2026.
Further details of the competition were announced on 25 August 2026. Louise Cantillon returned to host the show for the sixth time in a row. Niamh Ní Chróinín and Hugh Carr both returned as permanent judges.
Participants The ten participants competing in the 2026 edition were revealed at the end of the first show:
Freya Connolly Libby Fay Isa-Mae Lyle Naomi Gribben Caleb Kirwan Dualta Browne Rí-Rá Alexa Ralph Maedbh Cash Sophie Richmond
Jury members As in previous editions, the results of the live shows were decided by an in-studio jury of two permanent members and revolving guest judges. The permanent judges are:
Niamh Ní Chróinín – Radio presenter, manager of Irish-language youth radio station Raidió Rí-Rá Hugh Carr – Radio presenter on RTÉ 2fm
+Guest judgesArtistESCYear(s)Song(s)Place(SF)Points(SF)Place(Final)Points(Final)Linda Martin"Terminal 3" rowspan="3"; colspan="2" 2137"Why Me?"1155Niamh Kavanagh"In Your Eyes"1187"It's for You"9672325Mickey Joe Harte"We've Got the World"rowspan="2 "colspan="2" 1153Zena Donelly"Bríce ar Bhríce"10122
First round The second show was broadcast on 20 September 2026, with Niamh Kavanagh as the guest judge. As happened during the previous edition, all ten finalists performed in the first show with two being eliminated from the competition. The show consisted of all ten artists performing Irish-language covers of popular songs. Freya Connolly and Maedbh Cash did not advance, while the remaining eight contestants progressed to the next round. +Show 2 – 20 September 2026ArtistSong Result1Dualta Browne"This Is the Life" Advanced2Alexa Ralph"Drivers License" Advanced3Caleb Kirwan"Beautiful Things" Advanced4Libby Fay"New York, New York" Advanced5Freya Connolly"Only Love Can Hurt Like This" Eliminated6Naomi Gribben"And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Advanced7Rí-Rá"Friday I'm in Love" Advanced8Isa-Mae Lyle"Travelin' Soldier" Advanced9Sophie Richmond"Zombie" Advanced10Maedbh Cash"Good as Hell" Eliminated
Second round The third show was broadcast on 24 September 2026, with Mickey Joe Harte as the guest judge. The remaining eight artists performed with another two being eliminated from the competition. The show consisted of all eight artists performing Irish-language covers of popular songs. Alexa Ralph and Isa-Mae Lyle did not advance to the next round, while the remaining six contestants progressed to the semi-final. +Show 3 – 24 September 2026 Artist Song Result 1Naomi Gribben"Holding Out for a Hero" Advanced 2Caleb Kirwan"I Will Always Love You" Advanced 3Libby Fay"Relight My Fire" Advanced 4Dualta Browne"Linger" Advanced 5Sophie Richmond"Radioactive" Advanced 6Alexa Ralph"Lullaby" Eliminated7Isa-Mae Lyle"When the Party's Over" Wildcard 8Rí-Rá"Austin" Advanced
Semi-final The fourth show was broadcast on 27 September 2026, with Zena Donnelly as the guest judge. The remaining seven artists performed with four contestants being eliminated from the competition. The show consisted of all seven artists performing Irish-language covers of popular songs. Sophie Richmond, Libby Fay, Dualta Browne and Rí-Rá did not advance, while the final three contestants qualified for the final. +Show 4 – 27 September 2026 Artist Song Result1Caleb Kirwan"Hello" Advanced2Sophie Richmond"The Man Who Can't Be Moved" Eliminated3Libby Fay"Castles" Eliminated4Isa-Mae Lyle"Stay" Advanced5Naomi Gribben"Ordinary" Advanced6Dualta Browne"What Makes You Beautiful" Eliminated7Rí-Rá"Valerie" Eliminated
Final The fifth and final show will take place on 4 October 2026, with Linda Martin as the guest judge. First, the remaining three finalists will perform an Irish-language cover of a popular song and a cover of a famous Eurovision song. After revealing Caleb Kirwan and Naomi Gribben as the top 2, they will perform an Irish-language cover from the previous weeks. Caleb Kirwan and Naomi Gribben were subsequently announced as joint winnersafter the judges failed to select an individual oneearning the right to represent Ireland at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Ta' Qali. +Show 5 – 4 October 2026ArtistSongSong ResultCaleb Kirwan 1"Halo" 4 "Tattoo" - Advanced Naomi Gribben 2"If I Could Turn Back Time" 5"Why Me?" - AdvancedIsa-Mae Lyle 3"Back to Black" 6"Arcade" - Eliminated ArtistSong ResultCaleb Kirwan "I Will Always Love You" X X X 1 Naomi Gribben "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" X X X 1
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