Ireland's entertainment charts 2023: Lists of most popular TV, cinema, books, music, and more
Taylor Swift, Paul Lynch, and Joe Rogan were hugely popular with Irish consumers in 2023.
There were only two shows in town when it came to TV viewing habits in 2023: rugby and the Late Late Show.
Patrick Kielty's first Toy Show on November 24 topped the charts, with over 1.5m people tuning in, while his first edition of the Late Late Show in September also cracked the top ten.
Ireland's exploits at the Six Nations and the Rugby World Cup dominated a sports-heavy top ten, which also found room for the All-Ireland football and hurling finals.
Looking beyond the top ten gives some insight beyond our sporting preferences, though.
The eleventh most watched broadcast last year was the 9 o'clock news on RTÉ One on the day of the Dublin riots on November 23.
The highest-rated scripted show was the finale of season 2 of RTÉ's Kin.
Lifestyle, news, sport, and reality TV dominated the top 50 shows in Ireland, though, with just a handful of scripted shows making the cut.
Unusually, that was not the case with the RTÉ Player, though, which saw Eastenders, Home and Away, Fair City, Love/Hate, and Happy Valley among its top ten most-viewed programmes in 2023.
Of course, in 2023, many of us opt for streaming services rather than terrestrial TV. While streamers are usually silent on viewing data, Netflix did confirm its most-watched show globally was The Night Agent. Wednesday and Bridgerton are among its most-watched, too, though it does not give regional breakdowns of the information.
1. The Late Late Toy Show (RTÉ One), November 24, 1.5m
2. Rugby World Cup Live Ireland v New Zealand (Virgin Media), October 14, 1.3m
3. Rugby World Cup 2023 South Africa v Ireland (RTÉ2), September 23, 1.25m
4. Rugby World Cup Live Ireland v Scotland (Virgin Media), October 7, 1.2m
5. 6 Nations Live Ireland v England (Virgin Media), March 18, 1m
6. The Sunday Game Live - Dublin v Kerry (RTÉ2), July 30, 977,000
7. Rugby World Cup 2023 Ireland v Tonga (RTÉ2), September 15, 972,000
8. The Saturday Game Live - Kilkenny v Limerick (RTÉ2), July 23, 838,000
9. The Late Late Show (RTÉ One), September 15, 833,100
10. Guinness Six Nations Scotland v Ireland (RTÉ2), March 12, 823,000
It was a record year at the Irish box office, with receipts smashing the €100m mark for the first time in four years.
There is no doubt about it, 2023 belonged to Barbie. The film became a global phenomenon upon its mid-summer release, smashing the billion-dollar mark globally and becoming the highest-grossing film in Irish box office history.
Beyond Barbie, Cillian Murphy's Oppenheimer was a smash, while Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3 represented the sole Marvel entry in a poor year for Disney, which typically dominates these lists.
1. Barbie, €9.9m
2. Oppenheimer, €6.4m
3. The Super Mario Bros Movie, €5.1m
4. Wonka, €3.33m
5. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, €3.18m
6. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, €2.88m
7. Avatar: The Way of Water, €2.87m
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3, €2.73m
9. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, €2.46m
10. The Little Mermaid, €2.26m
There is no doubt about it, 2023 belonged to Taylor Swift. Three of the most streamed albums, according to Spotify, were from the US singer's back catalogue, and it's safe to say the coming year is likely to be dominated by Swift again as she continues her sell-out global tour, including a stop in Ireland.
R&B star SZA claimed third spot, while Harry Styles was second, perhaps boosted a little by his appearance at Slane last summer.
The Official Charts Company also published data, which shows that Dermot Kennedy's 'Sonder' and Hozier's 'Unreal Unearth' were the biggest albums by Irish acts in 2023.
1. Midnights, Taylor Swift
2. Harry’s House, Harry Styles
3. SOS, SZA
4. Lover, Taylor Swift
5. 1989, Taylor Swift
Miley Cyrus may have claimed top spot in Spotify's end-of-year list for Ireland, but the standout on this list is Jazzy. The Dubliner had a break-out year with the second most-streamed song in Ireland, while 'Giving Me' also claimed the title of the biggest debut single in either Ireland or the UK last year. Jazzy was also the first female solo artist to top the Irish charts in 14 years.
Elsewhere, there were strong showings once again for Taylor Swift and Harry Styles.
The biggest-selling vinyl singles, according to the Official Chart Company, included Boygenius, Aphex Twin, Kylie Minogue, Wham, and the Pogues ft Kirsty MacColl.
1. Flowers, by Miley Cyrus
2. Giving Me, by Jazzy
3. Miracle (with Ellie Goulding), by Calvin Harris
4. Anti-Hero, by Taylor Swift
5. Sprinter, by Dave and Central Cee
Spotify issued data on the top five most listened-to podcasts in Ireland last year, with three homegrown successes in the list. While Spotify's own Joe Rogan tops the chart, the roaring success of My Therapist Ghosted Me claims second place as Ireland continues to love the antics of Joanne McNally and Vogue Williams. The 2 Johnnies are third, with Crime World, presented by journalist Nicola Tallant, claiming fifth spot.
Apple also issued data late last year, with My Therapist Ghosted Me coming out on top.
1. The Joe Rogan Podcast
2. My Therapist Ghosted Me
3. The 2 Johnnies Podcast
4. The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett
5. Crime World
The combined hardback and paperback sales of Paul Lynch's Booker-winning Prophet Song pipped Liz Nugent’s Strange Sally Diamond at the top of the best-sellers in Ireland last year.
Beyond the top ten, some highlights include Katriona O'Sullivan's Poor, the 2022 novel Lessons in Chemistry, which was no doubt boosted by the TV adaptation of the same name, and Britney Spears' The Woman in Me.
1. Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch
2. Strange Sally Diamond, by Liz Nugent
3. The Bee Sting, by Paul Murray
4. It Ends With Us, by Colleen Hoover
5. Spare, by Prince Harry
6. Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Slow Cooker Book, by Nathan Anthony
7. Bored of Lunch: The Healthy Air Fryer Book, by Nathan Anthony
8. Mathematical Times Tables
9. Aisling Ever After, by Emer McLysaght & Sarah Breen
10. The Hike Life: My 50 Favourite Hikes in Ireland, by Rozanna Purcell
