List of Irish Singles Chart Christmas number ones facts for kids
In Ireland, a Christmas number one is a song that is the most popular on the Irish Singles Chart during the week of Christmas Day. It's a big deal for musicians to have their song at the very top of the charts during this special time of year!
The Irish Singles Chart began in 1962. The first artist to have a Christmas number one was Elvis Presley with his song "Return to Sender". The next year, in 1963, Brendan Bowyer became the first Irish artist to get the top spot at Christmas with "No More". More recently, Dermot Kennedy ("Giants") was the first Irish person to achieve this since Mario Rosenstock in 2005.
The famous music group Band Aid holds a special record. This group was put together by an Irishman named Bob Geldof. They are the only act to have been number one at Christmas three times! Each time, it was with their well-known song "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Other artists have also done very well, with four acts reaching number one twice. These include The Beatles, Queen (both times with "Bohemian Rhapsody"), the Spice Girls, and Eminem. Many songs that were Christmas number ones in Ireland also topped the charts in the United Kingdom at the same time.
For several years, from 2006 to 2013, the Christmas number one in Ireland was always won by the person who won the British TV show The X Factor. This streak ended in 2014 when Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars hit the top with their song "Uptown Funk". Some Irish bands, like The Rubberbandits ("Horse Outside" in 2010) and The Saw Doctors ("Downtown" in 2011), tried to get the Christmas number one during this time, but they didn't quite make it.
Irish Christmas Number Ones: A Full List
This table shows all the songs that have been the Christmas number one in Ireland since 1962. It's a cool way to see which artists and songs were the most popular during the festive season each year!
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Elvis Presley | "Return to Sender" |
| 1963 | Brendan Bowyer | "No More" |
| 1964 | The Beatles | "I Feel Fine" |
| 1965 | The Beatles | "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" |
| 1966 | Tom Jones | "Green, Green Grass of Home" |
| 1967 | Pat Lynch | "Treat My Daughter Kindly" |
| 1968 | The Scaffold | "Lily The Pink" |
| 1969 | The Archies | "Sugar, Sugar" |
| 1970 | Dave Edmunds | "I Hear You Knocking" |
| 1971 | Tommy Drennan | "O Holy Night" |
| 1972 | Thin Lizzy | "Whiskey in the Jar" |
| 1973 | Slade | "Merry Christmas Everybody" |
| 1974 | Gary Glitter | "Oh Yes! You're Beautiful" |
| 1975 | Queen | "Bohemian Rhapsody" |
| 1976 | Chicago | "If You Leave Me Now" |
| 1977 | Wings | "Mull of Kintyre" |
| 1978 | Boney M | "Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord" |
| 1979 | Pink Floyd | "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" |
| 1980 | St Winifred's School Choir | "There's No-one Quite Like Grandma" |
| 1981 | ABBA | "One of Us" |
| 1982 | Renee and Renato | "Save Your Love" |
| 1983 | Flying Pickets | "Only You" |
| 1984 | Band Aid | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| 1985 | Dermot Morgan | "Thank You Very Much Mr. Eastwood" |
| 1986 | The Housemartins | "Caravan of Love" |
| 1987 | The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl | "Fairytale of New York" |
| 1988 | Cliff Richard | "Mistletoe and Wine" |
| 1989 | Band Aid | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| 1990 | Zig and Zag | "The Christmas No.1" |
| 1991 | Queen | "Bohemian Rhapsody" / "These Are the Days of Our Lives" |
| 1992 | Whitney Houston | "I Will Always Love You" |
| 1993 | Take That | "Babe" |
| 1994 | East 17 | "Stay Another Day" |
| 1995 | Boyzone | "Father and Son" |
| 1996 | Spice Girls | "2 Become 1" |
| 1997 | Various Artists | "Perfect Day" |
| 1998 | Spice Girls | "Goodbye" |
| 1999 | Westlife | "I Have a Dream" |
| 2000 | Eminem | "Stan" |
| 2001 | Kate Winslet | "What If" |
| 2002 | Eminem | "Lose Yourself" |
| 2003 | Will Young | "Leave Right Now" |
| 2004 | Band Aid 20 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| 2005 | Mario Rosenstock | "Gift Grub/Leave Right Now" |
| 2006 | Leona Lewis | "A Moment Like This" |
| 2007 | Leon Jackson | "When You Believe" |
| 2008 | Alexandra Burke | "Hallelujah" |
| 2009 | Joe McElderry | "The Climb" |
| 2010 | Matt Cardle | "When We Collide" |
| 2011 | Little Mix | "Cannonball" |
| 2012 | James Arthur | "Impossible" |
| 2013 | Sam Bailey | "Skyscraper" |
| 2014 | Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars | "Uptown Funk" |
| 2015 | Justin Bieber | "Love Yourself" |
| 2016 | Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul and Anne-Marie | "Rockabye" |
| 2017 | Ed Sheeran | "Perfect" |
| 2018 | Ava Max | "Sweet but Psycho" |
| 2019 | Lewis Capaldi | "Before You Go" |
| 2020 | Dermot Kennedy | "Giants" |
| 2021 | Ed Sheeran and Elton John | "Merry Christmas" |
| 2022 | Raye ft. 070 Shake | "Escapism" |
| 2023 | Noah Kahan | "Stick Season" |
Images for kids
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Irishman Bob Geldof helped create Band Aid, who had three Christmas number ones.
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The Spice Girls were number one at Christmas twice in the late 1990s.
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Eminem had two Christmas number ones in the early 2000s.
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The X Factor (creator and judge Simon Cowell pictured) launched eight Christmas number ones in a row.
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Dermot Kennedy, who was Number One in 2020, was the first Irishman to get Christmas number one since Mario Rosenstock in 2005.
See also
