Ireland was represented at the Eurovision Song Contest 1979 with the song "Happy Man", written and performed by Cathal Dunne. The Irish participating broadcaster, (RTÃÂ), selected its entry through a national final.
(RTÃÂ) held the fifteenth edition of the National Song Contest on 4 February 1979 in Dublin, broadcast on RTÃÂ 1 and hosted by Mike Murphy. The winner, which was decided by ten regional juries throughout Ireland, was Cathal Dunne, who previously competed in the , but came 4th, losing out to Red Hurley who performed the song "When".
Ireland performed 4th in the startfield and finished 5th with 80 points.