| Eurovision Song Contest 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country |  Ireland | |||
| National selection | ||||
| Selection process | Eurosong 2012 | |||
| Selection date(s) | 24 February 2012 | |||
| Selected artist(s) | Jedward | |||
| Selected song | "Waterline" | |||
| Selected songwriter(s) | ||||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Semi-final result | Qualified (6th, 92 points) | |||
| Final result | 19th, 46 points | |||
| Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest | ||||
| ||||
Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with the song "Waterline" written by Nick Jarl and Sharon Vaughn. The song was performed by the duo Jedward, who had previously represented Ireland at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2011 where they achieved eighth place with the song "Lipstick". The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2012 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2012 contest in Baku, Azerbaijan. Five songs faced the votes of five regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Waterline" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.
Ireland was drawn to compete in the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest which took place on 22 May 2012. Performing as the closing entry during the show in position 18, "Waterline" was announced among the top 10 entries of the first semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the final on 26 May. It was later revealed that Ireland placed sixth out of the 18 participating countries in the semi-final with 92 points. In the final, Ireland performed in position 23 and placed nineteenth out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 46 points.