Hot Press 40th Anniversary: Cultural Events That Changed The Face of Ireland (30 - 21)

30. Take Me To The Charts
It was a courageous decision for Hozier to include a scene of men kissing in the video for ‘Take Me To Church’. Then the video, with homophobia as its theme, went viral. It has now been viewed 156 million times on YouTube alone. Along the way, it helped to win support for a ‘yes’ vote in the Marriage Equality referendum one of those rare moments when a positive story from Ireland topped the news agenda worldwide. Soon, Hozier’s career had spiralled brilliantly upwards, into the stratosphere, too. 7

29. 'You Raise Me Up'
Ireland has always been good at story-telling. That tradition has made this country one of the greatest sources of memorable and influential songs that have stood the test of time. The latest in that line is ‘You Raise Me Up’. With lyrics written by Ireland’s Brendan Graham, it started out as a track on a Secret Garden LP in 2001. Josh Groban had it on a hit record in 2003. Westlife turned it into a UK No.1 single. And since then it has gone on to be recorded hundreds of times, sung at numerous major public events, used in ads and movies and to top the sheet music charts for a long period. It is, by some distance, the biggest song of the 21st century to date: an extraordinary achievement.

28. Love/Hate
At long last, Irish television gave us a drama of monumental power and smarts, to match anything that’s produced anywhere in the word. Inspired by a superbly inventive script by Stuart Carolan, and Tom Vaughan-Lawlor as the unforgettable Nidge, we wore out the edges of our sofas through several winters from 2010 onwards.

27. Bringing It All Back Home and Other Voices
Bringing It All Back Home, the brainchild of Philip King and Nuala O’Connor, explored the influence of indigenous Irish music on other cultures, especially in the USA. In a sense, Other Voices, from the same team, is a continuation of that story, bringing a veritable feast of Irish and international singers, songwriters and musicians together in Dingle, to trade influences and make spine-tingling music. The series also caught Amy Winehouse in full glorious voice.

26. No Disco and the Loss of Uaneen Fitzsimons
While helming the cutting-edge rock programme No Disco for RTE, Uaneen Fitzsimons won hearts with her musical suss, her enthusiasm and her ability to transmit both down the tube. Her death in 2000, in a horrific car crash, sent shudders fo disbelief through the Irish rock community.

25. The Last Album That Wasn't
Snow Patrol were close to packing it when in 2006 their fourth album Eyes Open became the biggest-selling album of the year in the UK, spawning wondrous tracks like ‘Open Your Eyes’ and ‘Chasing Cars’, and making Gary Lightbody a 24-carat heartthrob and ace frontman.

24. Anne Enright 2007 Booker Prize
Over the past 40 years, women writers in Ireland have gradually worked their way to the forefront. The culmination of what had been a long, slow battle for equality of opportunity came when Anne Enright stepped up to win the Man Booker Prize, in 2007, with The Gathering. Enright’s reputation has continued to grow. So has the recognition being accorded to Irish women writers, with a new generation including Lisa McInerney, Sara Baume, Eimear McBride and Sally Rooney confirming that women really are doing it for themselves.

23. Seamus Heaney's Nobel Prize
At a time of political turmoil and widespread sectarian hatred in Northern Ireland, Seamus Heaney resisted the stereotypes, and wrote the most marvellous, timeless poetry in that clear, modest, wonderfully nuanced voice of his. The literary world rejoiced when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. This island felt like a much bleaker place when he died in August 2013, at the age of just 74.

22. The Oscars Keep On Coming
As an integral part of the soundtrack of John Carney’s Once, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova’s song ‘Falling Slowly’ turned Swell Season from home-based heroes into international treasures when in 2008 it won Best Original Song at the Oscars. Another notable Oscar came Ireland’s way in 2015, when the genius of Lenny Abrahamson’s direction turned Emma Donoghue’s masterpiece of a novel (and screenplay) Room into a chilling film.

21. Remixing The Corrs
From Dundalk, the siblings that make up The Corrs got bits parts in the movie of The Commitments. They connected on set with manager John Hughes.Appearances before global TV audiences watching the 1994 World Cup in the USA helped to launch them. Their first album Forgiven Not Forgotten was released in 1995 and did well. But it was the follow-up Talk On Corners that established the band as world-beaters. The original LP release did well. But a special edition, with remixes of certain tracks and a version of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Dreams’ added made history. Their unique mash-up of Irish folk, unerring pop instincts and a bunch of magnificently infectious tunes became the UK’s highest selling album of 1998. It remains the biggest selling album ever by an Irish act in the UK and sold over 300,000 copies in Ireland, making it 20 x platinum. The rest is history.