Tom Dunne: Sticking to my guns while selecting a compilation of Ireland's 30 best hits 

The album I put together in 2001 was a big success but, from boyband managers to mates of mine, there was plenty chatter about who I should have put in 

Horslips, Phil Lynott, Sultans of Ping, and Sinead O'Connor are among the artists who appeared on Tom Dunne's first compilation album.

My eldest turned twenty a few weeks back: Tom Dunne’s 30 Best Irish Hits, a double CD of love, hits and magnificence. From U2 to David Kitt, Rory to Glen and all points in between. It was six times platinum, spawned several follow-ups and yet, the evening before its release, the manager of a well-known boy band told me it would never sell.

I still remember the night he had decided to share this knowledge with me. It was a Radio Awards night and a pre-release copies had been left at each table. Seeing that his band, then wowing the charts, had not been included, he was incensed. “None of these are hits,” he told me. This wasn’t true but before I could speak his anger had moved on.