The Year In Review - Part Two: What made us laugh, cry and shake our heads in 2014
Welcome back to the Ice Bucket of fun that is the Year in Review 2014 where we look back at the year that was and all the stories that made that got us talking, laughing, arguing and crying over the last twelve months.
Weâve already had a look at the top half of the year - you can catch up here - and now itâs to see what happened from July onwards.
Ready? Letâs do this.
Oh the heady days of Mundyâs favourite month⊠The Irish summer was in full swing and you know what that means - weddings! Woo.
It seemed not a week went by without a wedding party trying to outdo all others in creative, cute videos all after the same thing - viral success.
There were contenders but the one that blew them all out of the water (hold on to your veils, ladies) was this Donegal coupleâs surprise entrance video first shown at their reception
The video went a bit crazy on our Facebook page as thousands of you watched, laughed, shared and liked it, taking it to Julyâs top spot.
It was a tough act to follow but this video of a slightly cracked (in a good way) Belfast family trying to solve a maths problem held its own - coming in as our second-most popular Facebook post of July.
Here it is again - itâs as funny now as it was then.
"If I am travelling 80 miles away at 80 mph, how long will it take to reach my destination?"
Never gonna get old.
As the summer heated up, we were all in need of a cooling off.
Enter the Ice Bucket Challenge.
A social media phenomenon, it dominated the second half of August as the world and their mother (literally) tipped buckets of icy water over their heads to raise awareness and money for ALS (also known as Motor Neurone disease).
And there some videos came out of the craze but top of the pile is what we around these parts affectionately called âJesus Mammyâ.
Viewed hundreds of thousands of times on our site alone, the video of an Irish mam who doesnât quite get the Ice Bucket Challenge became an instant classic.
itâs just perfect. But that wasnât the only gem to come out of the Ice Bucket Challenge. There were also the fail videos. So many fail videos.
But this one was our most viewed and, oh, itâs a doozy. If you havenât seen the excruciating bang yet, donât panic. Teresina Bell recovered - a little bruised but ok. And she was able to laugh about it. Because, really, how could you notâŠ
Even after all these months, the moment of impact is still a tough watch. But it was worth it for the internet gold, right?
Can you believe itâs September already? Thatâs what we said way back in September. That month always tries to sneak up on us as weâre too busy pretending the summer will never end and trying to avoid that back-to-school feeling that lingers even though itâs been years since you left school.
Anyway where were we?
Oh yes, this absolutely mind-boggling cycling kit for the Colombian womenâs team. Just look at it, for Peteâs sake!
How could they think that was a good idea? A lot of you felt the same way it seems, as it was our most viewed story on site that month.
Over on Facebook, our most popular post was without a doubt, this video of a little Northern Irish girl laying into her mother for interrupting her.
Itâs terrifying. In a cute way.
Do. Not. Cross. Her.
And so we danced our way into the autumn, digging out our big coats, wooly scarves and boots.
And then we put them all back because the weather was unseasonably mild.
One of our favourite stories of the month was also one of our most popular on the site.
Young Kerryman David Geaney wowed guests at a wedding reception when he took to the floor and showed off his killer irish dancing moves.
Heâs seriously impressive.
The other big story of October was, of course, Irish Water. As the protests gained pace, this parody charity appeal came just at the right time - and lots of you enjoyed it.
Here it is again, if you missed it.
Now stretch your minds back to the dark days of November. Remember November? In case youâve forgotten, it was last month.
Novemberâs biggest story was one that touched a nerve with a lot of our readers.
Donna Hartnett from Cork wrote this impassioned letter outlining the financial struggles she and her family have faced.
Thousands of you liked, commented and shared the story on Facebook and Twitter with many of you empathising with her plight.
Later in November, we had the Late Late Toy show. there were so many great moments but the we were all completely charmed when Ed Sheeran turned up to surprise fan, Aimee Keogh.
And, as one the nation swooned.
December already! Didnât the year just fly by?
So the month isnât over yet but weâve still had some thought-provoking and talked-about stories.
First up is this video of a pregnant woman confronting some anti-abortion protestors outside a London clinic. The clip - filmed by journalist Sunny Hundal - has been viewed more than five million times since being uploaded on December 3rd.
As you can imagine, it sparked a lot of debate among our readers on Facebook.
And our second most popular story this month was also one that set off a lot of discussion.
Candice Curry from Texas wrote a letter to her ex-husbandâs new wife, entitled An Open Letter To My Daughterâs Stepmom. She started off by saying âI never wanted you hereâ and âI didnât want help from another woman to raise my childâ.
But then she explains how she went on to change her mind.
She says: âYouâve accepted our daughter from the very start and have unconditionally loved both her and her daddy, thatâs a true gift to all of us.
âYou put her relationship with her daddy above yours and only a brave and courageous woman knows how to do that with such grace.
So sweet.
You can read the full letter here.
And that itâs! The wild ride that was 2014. Let us know your favourites in the comments.
Merry Christmas and we'll see you on the other side
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