Ed Sheeran confirmed his status as Ireland’s favourite international star of the moment by holding onto the top spot in the Irish album charts for the week that included Christmas Eve and ended on St.Stephen’s Day. His multi-platinum-selling album X held off stiff competition from Ireland’s new favourite son – and cover star of the Hot Press Annual – Hozier, who was at No.2 again.

The biggest movers in the upper echelons were Take That, who jumped from No.10 to No.6 with III – but they didn’t gather enough momentum to catch Sam Smith (No.3), One Direction (No.4) or Taylor Swift (No.5).

The Script were the second Irish act in the Top 10, with No Sound Without Silence at No.9. Father Ray Kelly’s Where I Belong (No.11), Imelda May’s Tribal (No.12), Hot Press Christmas issue cover stars The Coronas' The Long Way (No.13) and Nathan Carter’s Christmas Stuff (No.14) almost make a flush of Irish artists just outside the Top 10. Other Irish albums in the Top 30 include Damien Rice: My Faded Fantasy (No.17); Tommy Fleming: The West’s Awake (No.19); and U2: Songs of Innocence (No.24).

For a full run-down on the Albums of the Year, see the Hot Press Annual, with Hozier on the front cover.