The Mullans represented Ireland in the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest in Jerusalem after winning the national final selection. Their song "When You Need Me" was one of eight songs presented in the national final, which was held on 7 March 1999, at the RTÉ television centre in Dublin. Pat Kenny hosted the event for the ninth consecutive year. This was the first year in which televoting was used to determine the winner, though the votes were split into seven televoting regions, each of which awarded points in the same way the regional juries had in years past.[1]
In the national final, "When You Need Me" received top points from all seven televoting regions.
At Eurovision
The Mullans performed 17th in the running order on the night of the contest, a draw on which three previous Irish entries had won ("What's Another Year?" in 1980, "Why Me?" in 1992 and "The Voice" in 1996). Despite taking an early lead with twelve points from the first voting country Lithuania, "When You Need Me" picked up only six additional points, finishing in 17th place.