List of Irish Singles Chart Christmas number ones facts for kids
In Ireland, Christmas number ones are singles that are top of the Irish Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls.
The Irish Singles Chart was first published in 1962, and the first artist to top the chart at Christmas was Elvis Presley with "Return to Sender". The following year, Brendan Bowyer became the first Irish artist to claim top spot at Christmas with "No More". 2020 winner Dermot Kennedy ("Giants") is the first Irish national to achieve the feat since Mario Rosenstock in 2005.
The supergroup Band Aid, created by Irishman Bob Geldof, is the only act to have been number one at Christmas three times, each time with "Do They Know It's Christmas?". Four more acts have held top spot twice: The Beatles, Queen (both times with "Bohemian Rhapsody"), the Spice Girls and Eminem. Many acts that have topped the Irish Singles Chart at Christmas have also topped the UK Singles Chart at the same time.
From 2006 to 2013, every winner of the Irish Christmas number one came from the winning contestant of that year's series of the British reality contest The X Factor. Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars broke this streak in 2014 with their single "Uptown Funk". Irish bands such as The Rubberbandits ("Horse Outside" in 2010) and The Saw Doctors ("Downtown" in 2011) have contested for the honor during this time frame, but both fell well short.
List
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Elvis Presley | "Return to Sender" |
| 1963 | Brendan Bowyer | "No More" |
| 1964 | The Beatles | "I Feel Fine" |
| 1965 | The Beatles | "Day Tripper" / "We Can Work It Out" |
| 1966 | Tom Jones | "Green, Green Grass of Home" |
| 1967 | Pat Lynch | "Treat My Daughter Kindly" |
| 1968 | The Scaffold | "Lily The Pink" |
| 1969 | The Archies | "Sugar, Sugar" |
| 1970 | Dave Edmunds | "I Hear You Knocking" |
| 1971 | Tommy Drennan | "O Holy Night" |
| 1972 | Thin Lizzy | "Whiskey in the Jar" |
| 1973 | Slade | "Merry Christmas Everybody" |
| 1974 | Gary Glitter | "Oh Yes! You're Beautiful" |
| 1975 | Queen | "Bohemian Rhapsody" |
| 1976 | Chicago | "If You Leave Me Now" |
| 1977 | Wings | "Mull of Kintyre" |
| 1978 | Boney M | "Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord" |
| 1979 | Pink Floyd | "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" |
| 1980 | St Winifred's School Choir | "There's No-one Quite Like Grandma" |
| 1981 | ABBA | "One of Us" |
| 1982 | Renee and Renato | "Save Your Love" |
| 1983 | Flying Pickets | "Only You" |
| 1984 | Band Aid | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| 1985 | Dermot Morgan | "Thank You Very Much Mr. Eastwood" |
| 1986 | The Housemartins | "Caravan of Love" |
| 1987 | The Pogues ft. Kirsty MacColl | "Fairytale of New York" |
| 1988 | Cliff Richard | "Mistletoe and Wine" |
| 1989 | Band Aid | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| 1990 | Zig and Zag | "The Christmas No.1" |
| 1991 | Queen | "Bohemian Rhapsody" / "These Are the Days of Our Lives" |
| 1992 | Whitney Houston | "I Will Always Love You" |
| 1993 | Take That | "Babe" |
| 1994 | East 17 | "Stay Another Day" |
| 1995 | Boyzone | "Father and Son" |
| 1996 | Spice Girls | "2 Become 1" |
| 1997 | Various Artists | "Perfect Day" |
| 1998 | Spice Girls | "Goodbye" |
| 1999 | Westlife | "I Have a Dream" |
| 2000 | Eminem | "Stan" |
| 2001 | Kate Winslet | "What If" |
| 2002 | Eminem | "Lose Yourself" |
| 2003 | Will Young | "Leave Right Now" |
| 2004 | Band Aid 20 | "Do They Know It's Christmas?" |
| 2005 | Mario Rosenstock | "Gift Grub/Leave Right Now" |
| 2006 | Leona Lewis | "A Moment Like This" |
| 2007 | Leon Jackson | "When You Believe" |
| 2008 | Alexandra Burke | "Hallelujah" |
| 2009 | Joe McElderry | "The Climb" |
| 2010 | Matt Cardle | "When We Collide" |
| 2011 | Little Mix | "Cannonball" |
| 2012 | James Arthur | "Impossible" |
| 2013 | Sam Bailey | "Skyscraper" |
| 2014 | Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars | "Uptown Funk" |
| 2015 | Justin Bieber | "Love Yourself" |
| 2016 | Clean Bandit ft. Sean Paul and Anne-Marie | "Rockabye" |
| 2017 | Ed Sheeran | "Perfect" |
| 2018 | Ava Max | "Sweet but Psycho" |
| 2019 | Lewis Capaldi | "Before You Go" |
| 2020 | Dermot Kennedy | "Giants" |
| 2021 | Ed Sheeran and Elton John | "Merry Christmas" |
| 2022 | Raye ft. 070 Shake | "Escapism" |
| 2023 | Noah Kahan | "Stick Season" |
See also
