Google searches reveal Irish surfer's passions

The entire country went a little bit sports-mad this summer, so it comes as no surprise to hear Rugby World Cup 2015 is the phrase people in Ireland searched online for the most this year.

Tech giant Google has just released its annual country-by-country list of top trending search terms – the Rugby World Cup was the most searched for term overall but also topped the list of Top Trending Sports Events and Top Trending News.

Notorious UFC star Conor McGregor also featured heavily in the listings. The fighter was the third most searched for term in Ireland this year and was the most searched for sports person overall.

McGregor, who dominated rival Jose Aldo at the weekend with a knockout after just 13 seconds to become featherweight champion, also had the Irish frantically searching for ‘How to watch McGregor fight in Ireland’.

Keith Earl in action for Ireland during the Rugby World Cup at Wembley, London. Picture: Inpho

Other people widely searched for were Karen Buckley, the Irish student who went missing in Glasgow and was later found dead, NBA star Lamar Odom who is going through a health scare at the moment, and Lady Colin Campbell who recently appeared on reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

Rugby great Jonah Lomu also featured in the list of top-trending people following his untimely death last month, as did late DJ Tony Fenton who passed away earlier this year.

In terms of current events, the Irish were searching for Paris and Charlie Hebdo in the wake of the terrorist attacks in the city earlier this year, while controversial host Jeremy Clarkson was also widely searched for after he had an altercation with one of the producers of car show Top Gear and was subsequently dropped by BBC.

‘Jurassic World’ was the seventh most searched for term in Google. Picture: Chris Prat

Former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey was the top trending politician this year, presumably a result of the RTE mini-series which documented his life and was broadcast during the summer, while Health Minister Leo Varadkar and US presidential candidate Donald Trump came second and third respectively.

The lists, which have been released today, track interest in certain topics and are strong indicators of what has gripped the country so far this year.

Apart from people, places and events, the lists also track a number of phrases such as ‘What is…?’ and ‘How to…?’

This year, the country most wanted to learn how to use snapchat, how to make pancake mix, how to eat pomelo and how to draw a minion. It also want to know what is ISIS, what is Je Suis Charlie and what is lupus.

Top Ten Search Terms:

1. Rugby World Cup 2015

2. Karen Buckley

3. Conor McGregor

4. Paris

5. Lamar Odom

6. Lady Colin Campbell

7. Jurassic World

8. Eurovision 2015

9. Charlie Hebdo

10. Operation Transformation 2015

Top Trending People

1. Karen Buckley

2. Conor McGregor

3. Lamar Odom

4. Lady Colin Campbell

5. Ed Sheeran

6. Jeremy Clarkson

7. Cilla Black

8. Tony Fenton

9. Jonah Lomu

10. Ruby Rose

Top Trending Sportspeople

1. Conor McGregor

2. Jonah Lomu

3. Ronda Rousey

4. Tyson Fury

5. Stephanie Roche

6. Jurgen Klopp

7. Manny Pacquiao

8. Pedro

9. Ian Madigan

10. Shane Long

Top Trending Sport Events

1. Rugby World Cup 2015

2. Cheltenham 2015

3. Wimbledon 2015

4. Cricket World Cup

5. Ploughing Championships 2015

6. Six nations 2015

7. Mayweather vs Pacquiao

8. Copa America

9. Grand National 2015

10. Champions League Final

Top Trending Politicians

1. Charlie Haughey

2. Leo Varadkar

3. Donald Trump

4. Jeremy Corbyn

5. David Cameron

6. PJ Mara

7. Charles Kennedy

8. Terence Flanagan

9. Ed Miliband

10. Hillary Clinton

Top Trending TV Shows

1. Eurovision 2015

2. Operation transformation 21

3. Big Brother 2015

4. Oscars 2015

5. Celebrity Big Brother

6. Narcos

7. Better Call Saul

8. Game of Thrones Season 5

9. Strictly Come Dancing 2015

10. Daredevil

Top Trending News

1. Rugby World Cup

2. Karen Buckley

3. Lamar Odom

4. Paris

5. Eurovision 2015

6. Charlie Hebdo

7. Budget 2016

8. Caitlyn Jenner

9. Greece

10. Wimbledon 2015

Top Trending Music Acts

1. Ed Sheeran

2. Adele

3. Eagles of death metal

4. Lil Chris

5. Meghan Trainor

6. Albert Hammond

7. Florence and the Machine

8. Justin Bieber

9. Dr Dre

10. Kelly Clarkson

Top Trending What is?

1. What is isis

2. What is je suis charlie

3. What is lupus

4. What is processed meat

5. What is a frappé

6. What is ebola

7. What is 0 divided by 0

8. What is Charlie Charlie

9. What is happening in Syria

10. What is a solar eclipse

Top Trending Who is?

1. Who is Lucy the Australopithecus

2. Who is lady C

3. Who is A in pretty little liars

4. Who is Nick Grimshaw

5. Who is isis

6. Who is the father of Charity Dingles son in Emmerdale

7. Who is Kitty McGeever

8. Who is Ronnie Pickering

9. Who is Charlie Hebdo

10. Who is the Arkham knight

Top Trending When is?

1. When is Easter 2015

2. When is Pancake Tuesday 2015

3. When is Halloween 2015

4. When is the Late Late Toy show 2015

5. When is Thanksgiving 2015

6. When is Fathers day in ireland 2015

7. When is Chinese new year 2015

8. When is Ash Wednesday 2015

9. When is FIFA 16 out

10. When is black Friday 2015 in ireland

Top Trending How to?

1. How to use new snapchat

2. How to make pancake mix

3. How to eat pomelo

4. How to draw a minion

5. How to bleed radiators

6. How to make loom bands

7. How to watch McGregor fight in Ireland

8. How to get rid of hickeys fast

9. How to get rid of brain freeze

10. How to view a solar eclipse