Eleven Irish Albums In Christmas Top 30

It has been a remarkable Christmas for Irish music, with a total of eleven albums by Irish artists holding down positions in the Irish Top 30. That close to a 40% representation – an impressive marker by any standards.

Meanwhile, Michael Bublé has won the battle for the coveted Irish Christmas No.1 album spot.

His seasonal album, Christmas, retains the No.1 position, despite a late surge up to No.2 by Adele, whose 21 has been by far the biggest album of the year, spending a total of 48 weeks on the charts.

Westlife are the leading Irish artists in the Christmas chart, with their Greatest Hits album rising to No.3. Meanwhile Amy Winehouse's posthumous album Lioness: Hidden Treasures drops from No.4 to No.8 in its third week in the charts.

In what is a resounding vindication of the importance of local repertoire, other Irish artists in the top 30 include honourary Irishman Ed Sheeran (No.10 with +); Snow Patrol (No.12 with Fallen Empires); Mario Rosenstock (No. 15 with Gift Grub 12); Imelda May (No.16 with Mayhem/More Mayhem); Christy Moore (No.17 with Folk Tale); Jedward (No.18 with Victory); Daniel O'Donnell (No.19 with The Ultimate Collection); Mary Byrne (No.26 with ...With Love); The Coronas (No.27 with Closer To You); and The Dubliners (No.30 with Dubliners Originals).

In all, there are 27 Irish albums in the Christmas Top 100.