Ireland has enjoyed vintage rock ’n’ roll years before, but 2003 will likely go down as the one in which the music scene here fully came of age.

No longer in need of, ahem, guidance from the UK, America or anywhere else, thank you very much, Irish record buyers made household names out of homegrown acts like The Frames, BellX1, Turn, Jerry Fish & The Mudbug Club, Damien Dempsey, Paddy Casey, David Kitt, Damien Rice and The Thrills – who also successfully persuaded approximately 800,000 plus Britons that their life would be considerably enriched by shelling out for their fine debut album, So Much For The City.

With so many amazing records and equally breathtaking gigs to stimulate the palate, it’s no surprise that this year’s Hot Press Readers’ Poll saw you voting in your many thousands. The response was, literally, overwhelming. The unfortunate tallyman who had to tot them up mightn’t be quite so enthusiastic, but the rest of us at HP Towers have been blown away by the reaction – thank you!

Looking at the results, it’s clear that the ever-increasing popularity of The Frames shows no sign of peaking. Yet. Having pipped U2 to ‘Best Irish Group’ in 2002, the band have added ‘Best Irish Single’, ‘Best Irish Live’ and, courtesy of Colm Mac Con Iomaire, ‘Best Irish Musician’ to their cache of accolades.

The Frames didn’t have it all their own way, though, with Damien Rice judged to be ‘Best Irish Male’ and ‘Best Irish Songwriter’; The Thrills getting the nod as ‘Irish Most Promising’ and ‘Best Debut Album’; and BellX1 confirming, if there was any doubt, that they’ve entered the major league by landing ‘Best Irish Album’ and ‘Best Irish Album Sleeve’. That ‘Best Album’ accolade is one that’ll steel the resolve of their record company, Island: they’ve got the goods in BellX1, the trick now is to make people all over the world aware of it!
She didn’t have any new material out, but that didn’t prevent Gemma Hayes from holding on to ‘Best Irish Female’. It was also a great year for Kila who romped home in the ‘Best Irish/Folk/Trad/Specialist category.

Tommy Tiernan (‘Best Irish Comedian’) and Tom Dunne (‘Best Radio DJ’) also held on to their respective crowns. Dunne’s showing was particularly impressive, given all the young pretenders who got their feet in the door at RTE and Today FM during 2003. Let’s hope this injection of new blood gathers apace in 2004!

There was also plenty of fresh talent coming through in the ‘Best Irish Dance’ section, with Messiah J & The Expert heading an impressive list that proves we can bleep, scratch and rap with the best of ’em!

It was also a cracking year for Josh Ritter, an honorary Irishman if ever there was one, who walked away with ‘Best International Male’ and ‘Best International Songwriter’. The only act bettering his performance are The White Stripes, who topped the poll in three categories and probably would’ve grabbed a fourth if a mangled finger hadn’t forced them to pull their Witnness appearance.

While HP readers’ love affair with Radiohead (‘Best International Live’), Billy Connolly (‘Best International Comedian’), Chemical Brothers (‘Best International Dance’) and Beyoncé (‘Best International Fame’) remains as enduring as ever, there was also a place in your heart for the very wonderful Kings of Leon (‘International Most Promising’ and ‘Best Debut Album’).

No prizes for guessing who came out on top in a very competitive ‘Loathe of the Year’ – we’re sorry, Dubya, but you won’t get much of a céid míle fáilte round these parts!
With Juliet Turner, The Corrs, U2, Divine Comedy, Ash and a bunch of other heavy hitters returning to the fray, 2004 promises to be an even more exciting – and competitive! – year in Irish music. In the meantime, congratulations to all the winners and you, the HP faithful, for making this the Hot Press Readers’ Poll with the biggest turnout of voters, ever!

Click here for Irish winners

Click here for International winners

GENERAL:

Radio DJ
1. Tom Dunne – Today FM
2. Ray Darcy – Today FM
3. Dave Fanning – 2FM
4. Donal Dineen – Today FM
5. John Walshe – FM104
6. Jenny Huston – 2FM
7. Ian Dempsey – Today FM
8. John Kelly – Radio 1
9. Ryan Tubridy – 2FM
10. Alison Curtis – Today FM
11. Colm O’Sullivan –RED FM
12. Cormac Battle – 2FM
13. Emma Buckley – Spin FM
14. Donna Legge – BBC NI
15. Pete Reid – Phantom FM

Film
1. Lord Of The Rings – Return Of The King
2. Kill Bill
3. Intermission
4. City Of God
5. In America

TV programme
1. Bachelor’s Walk
2. The Office
3. Amu Le Hector
4. Other Voices
5. The Simpsons
6. The West Wing
7. Sex And The City
8. The Panel
9. Will & Grace
10. Scrubs

Music video
1. Johnny Cash – ‘Hurt’
2. The Darkness – ‘I Believe In A Thing…’
3. Outkast – ‘Hey Ya’
4. Beyoncé – ‘Crazy In Love’
5. The White Stripes – ‘Seven Nation Army’

LOVES & LOATHES
Love of the year
1. Ireland finally having a summer
2. Witnness
3. Lisdoonvarna
4. Damien Rice
5. Special Olympics

Loath of the year
1. George W Bush
2. Pop Idol/You’re A Star/Fame Academy
3. Britney Spears
4. Clare Co. Council
5. Bertie Ahern