Sean Dunphy's Quiet Near-Miss Sets the Irish Template

MAY 15 1967 · 12:05

Sean Dunphy · "If I Could Choose" · Ireland · 1967 Placement: 2 · Score: 22 · Language: English · Composers: Michael Coffey, Wesley Burrowes · Venue: Hofburg Imperial Palace · Host: Vienna, Austria · Type: upset · Broadcast: pre color Dunphy stands alone in a black tuxedo, microphone on a stand, and delivers a courtly minor-key ballad about choosing among lovers. The Hofburg's chandeliers glitter. He sings without gesture. Sandie Shaw's barefoot 'Puppet on a String' takes the win with 47 points; Dunphy lands second with 22 — a distant silver but Ireland's best-ever placement after just two years of participation. Context Ireland had debuted in 1965. RTÉ chose Dunphy, a Dublin showband singer with the Hoedowners, through the National Song Contest. The song was written by Dubliner Wesley Burrowes, who would later script RTÉ soap 'Glenroe' for 18 years. Legacy Dunphy's 2nd-place finish proved Ireland could compete. Three years later Dana won with 'All Kinds of Everything', beginning the most successful Eurovision streak per capita in contest history. Dunphy kept performing until his death in 2011; his RTÉ obituary led with the 1967 result.