Charlie McGettigan

Charlie McGettigan
Born	Charles Joseph McGettigan (1950-12-07) 7 December 1950 (age 75) Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland
Occupation	Singer
Labels	Stockfisch

Charles Joseph McGettigan (born 7 December 1950, Ballyshannon, County Donegal) is an Irish singer. He lived in 2009 in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim. ^[1]

Career

Performing with Paul Harrington, he won the Eurovision Song Contest 1994 with the song "Rock 'n' Roll Kids" (words and music by Brendan Graham); the third of a record three consecutive wins by Ireland. Harrington played piano and McGettigan played guitar. He made an appearance as a guest singer at Congratulations, the 50th anniversary concert of Eurovision.

In August 1998, McGettigan's only son, Shane McGettigan, was killed in a construction accident while working in Quincy, Massachusetts. ^{[2] [3]}

In 2015, McGettigan wrote "Anybody Got a Shoulder?" for Kat Mahon, which was one of the five songs in Eurosong 2015, the national selection to select the Irish entry for Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. The song finished 2nd.^{[ citation needed ]}

In December 2025 McGettigan announced that he would be returning his trophy to the EBU in protest of Israel's participation in the 2026 contest, if he was able to find it. ^[4] .

Discography

Albums

• Songs of the Night (And Other Stories) (1986)
• Charlie McGettigan (1990)
• Rock 'N' Roll Kids - The Album (together with Paul Harrington) (1994)
• In Your Old Room (1998)
• Another Side of Charlie McGettigan (c. 2002)
• Stolen Moments (2006)
• The Man from 20 (2010)
• Some Old Someone (Stockfisch, 2019)

References

1. McGettigan, Charlie (8 May 2007). "Charlie McGettigan's Blog". Myspace. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 13 July 2012.
2. Hogan, Eugene; Keogh, Elaine (13 August 1998). "Irishmen die in scaffold horror". Irish Independent . Retrieved 12 July 2012.
3. Smith, Jim. "Feds blame contractors in death of Irish laborers". The Irish Echo . Archived from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
4. "Ireland's Eurovision winner Charlie McGettigan intends to return trophy in support of Nemo". RTÉ . 12 December 2025. Retrieved 13 December 2025.

External links

• Clip on YouTube

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Niamh Kavanagh with "In Your Eyes"	Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest (with Paul Harrington) 1994	Succeeded by Secret Garden with "Nocturne"
Preceded by Niamh Kavanagh with "In Your Eyes"	Ireland in the Eurovision Song Contest (with Paul Harrington) 1994	Succeeded by Eddie Friel with "Dreamin'"