IRMA announcement of Ireland’s recorded music consumption data for 2025: “Homegrown talent surges in popularity, propelling another year of solid growth for Ireland’s recorded music market”

07 January 2026 - Press release

Homegrown talent surges in popularity, propelling another year of solid growth for Ireland's recorded music market

Releases from Fontaines DC, CMAT, Kingfishr, Amble, Hozier & Jazzy helped grow the Irish singles market by 7% and albums by 12% in 2025.
Irish artists' market share tripled since 2024, reaching 21.5% of top 100 sales in 2025.
Streaming continues to break records, with Irish consumers listening to 13.2 billion audio streams in 2025, up 60% since 2020.
Kingfishr ends the year on a high, with seven singles in the top 100, including Killeagh at number 1 and their album Halcyon coming in at number 6.
Killeagh is the biggest song in a single year this decade by any artist, while Amble's Reverie is the most streamed album by a homegrown act.
Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl dominates physical album sales, while Fontaines DC, CMAT, Kingfishr and Amble lead the rest of the pack.
IRMA Chairman Willie Kavanagh has praised the vibrancy of Ireland's homegrown music scene and called on the government to show leadership at EU level on AI, copyright and digital legislation.

Since the Irish Recorded Music Association incorporated audio streaming into the Irish charts in 2014, it has experienced year-on-year growth. 2025 continued to break records, with 13.2 billion audio streams, a 6% increase on 2024, and 60% since 2020. It was an exceptional year for Irish acts at home and internationally. 2025 saw Fontaines DC and CMAT nominated yet again for the Mercury Prize, while Kneecap left their mark everywhere from Glastonbury to Coachella.

Of the most-streamed songs of 2025, Irish artists made up just over a fifth, with 22 individual tracks by or featuring Irish artists in the top 100. This is three times as many as 2024 and more than any other year this decade.

Leading the charge is Limerick-based folk-trio Kingfishr whose song Killeagh is officially the most-listened-to track in Ireland for 2025. An ode to guitarist Eoin Fitzgibbon's home village and GAA club, Killeagh captured the Irish public's imagination like no other song this year. It has become not just the most-streamed song of the year, but the most-streamed song in any single year this decade. With nearly 27m streams, it surpassed hits like Noah Kahan's Stick Season (2024, 26.5m streams), The Weeknd's Blinding Lights (2020, 20m streams), and Miley Cyrus' Flowers (2023, 19m streams).

Released at the tail-end of 2024, Killeagh also managed to land the coveted Christmas #1 spot for 2025 following a surprise Toy Show appearance. Kingfishr have a total of seven tracks in the top 100 most-streamed songs this year, tied with country-superstar Zach Bryan for the most of any artist.

Other Irish artists appearing in the top 100 include Amble, Hozier, Fontaines DC, Jazzy, and Kneecap. In total, sales from Irish artists made up 21.5% of the top 100.

For the second year running, Taylor Swift had the biggest album of the year in Ireland, with The Life of a Showgirl proving to be an even bigger hit than last year's The Tortured Poet's Department, amassing over 42,747 album equivalent sales (AES). The album only narrowly beat Sabrina Carpenter's Short n' Sweet, which had 42,700 AES, and Noah Kahan's Stick Season with 41,734 AES. Oasis saw an emphatic return to the Irish charts with three albums re-entering the top 30, including their compilation Time Flies at #7.

Reverie, the debut album by Amble, was the biggest Irish album of the year with over 38, 938 AES. The album also produced four of the most streamed tracks this year, with Lonely Island, Schoolyard Days, Tonnta, and Mary's Pub all making the top 50. These figures make it the biggest Irish album since Dermot Kennedy's Without Fear in 2020, and surpassing that album's streaming performance in a single year.

Vinyl sales saw an increase in 2025, with 478,000 sold, a massive 20% increase on 2024, helped by strong performances from Irish artists and enormous sales for Taylor Swift. Releases by Fontaines DC, CMAT, Kingfishr, Amble, and Kneecap all appear in the top 10 vinyl albums sold this year. This was a marked improvement on 2024, which saw just two Irish artists in the top 50 (Fontaines DC & Hozier). Physical sales of CDs and even cassette tapes also saw a healthy increase of 4.5% and 64% respectively. Taylor Swift again tops the list for total physical albums sold by a large margin.

On the home front, Fontaines DC's Romance was the best-selling physical album by an Irish act for the second year running, and second-biggest overall, with over 7,795 sales across all formats. Releases by Kingfishr, Amble, and CMAT also appear in the top 10 for total physical sales.

Commenting on an exciting year for Irish music, IRMA Chairman Willie Kavanagh said:
"2025 marks a particularly exciting year for Irish music. In an ever-changing landscape, Irish acts are making their mark on a global stage, with Fontaines DC, Hozier and CMAT emerging as world beaters. At home, the phenomenal chart performances of Kingfishr and Amble show the confidence and strength of our domestic music scene, and demonstrates what can be achieved across genres with the right support and environment.

"As Ireland takes up the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026, the vibrancy of Irish music serves as a reminder of our responsibility to support and nurture human creativity. With discussions on the digital single market and artificial intelligence, we hope that the Irish Presidency will lead the way in ensuring the full implementation and retention of copyright protections. As a country with flourishing culture and tech sectors, Ireland is uniquely placed to shepherd these discussions towards a solution that ensures a vibrant licensing market where our homegrown artists can reach new heights."

IRMA Charts – 2025 best sellers overall and most streamed

Chart 1 – IRMA ARTIST ALBUMS CHART 2025 – © IRMA

Pos. Artist & Title

Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl
Sabrina Carpenter - Short N' Sweet
Noah Kahan - Stick Season
Amble - Reverie
Fleetwood Mac - 50 Years - Don't Stop
Kingfishr - Halcyon
Oasis - Time Flies - 1994-2009
Ed Sheeran - + - = Divide X - Tour Collection
Weeknd - The Highlights
Tate McRae - So Close To What

Chart 2 – IRMA SINGLES CHART 2025 – © IRMA

Pos. Artist & Title

Kingfishr - Killeagh
Alex Warren - Ordinary
Chappell Roan - Pink Pony Club
Gracie Abrams - That's So True
Lola Young - Messy
Sombr - Undressed
Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not
Billie Eilish - Birds of a Feather
Sombr - Back To Friends
Rose & Bruno Mars – Apt

Chart 3 – IRMA VINYL ARTIST ALBUMS CHART 2025 – © IRMA

Pos. Artist & Title

Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl
Fontaines Dc - Romance
Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
Amble - Reverie
Kingfishr - Halcyon
CMAT - Euro-Country
Oasis - What's the Story Morning Glory
Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
Jeff Buckley - Grace
Kneecap - Fine Art

Pos. Artist & Title

Taylor Swift - The Life of a Showgirl
Kingfishr – Halcyon
Amble - Reverie
CMAT - Euro-Country
Sabrina Carpenter - Short N' Sweet
Ed Sheeran - Play
Sabrina Carpenter - Man's Best Friend
Olivia Rodrigo - Guts
Michael D Higgins/O'Reilly - Against All Certainty
Fontaines DC – Romance

Pos. Artist & Title

Kingfishr - Killeagh
Alex Warren - Ordinary
Chappell Roan - Pink Pony Club
Gracie Abrams - That's So True
Lola Young - Messy
Ravyn Lenae - Love Me Not
Sombr - Undressed
Sombr - Back To Friends
Gigi Perez - Sailor Song
Billie Eilish - Birds of a Feather

Submit news or a press release

Want to add your news or press release? Email Paul or Kevin

Two week FREE trial