Kingfishr, Fontaines DC & CMAT spearhead another year of growth for Ireland’s recorded music market

Since the Irish Recorded Music Association incorporated audio streaming into the Irish charts in 2014, it has experienced year-on-year growth. 2025 continued to break records, with 13.2 billion audio streams, a 6% increase on 2024, and 60% since 2020. It was an exceptional year for Irish acts at home and internationally. 2025 saw Fontaines DC and CMAT nominated yet again for the Mercury Prize, while Kneecap left their mark everywhere from Glastonbury to Coachella.

Of the most-streamed songs of 2025, Irish artists made up just over a fifth, with 22 individual tracks by or featuring Irish artists in the top 100. This is three times as many as 2024 and more than any other year this decade. 

Leading the charge is Limerick-based folk-trio Kingfishr whose song Killeagh is officially the most-listened-to track in Ireland for 2025. It has become not just the most-streamed song of the year, but the most-streamed song in any single year this decade. With nearly 27m streams, it surpassed hits like Noah Kahan’s Stick Season (2024, 26.5m streams), The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights (2020, 20m streams), and Miley Cyrus’ Flowers (2023, 19m streams).

Released at the tail-end of 2024, Killeagh also managed to land the coveted Christmas #1 spot for 2025 following a surprise Toy Show appearance. Kingfishr have a total of seven tracks in the top 100 most-streamed songs this year, tied with country-superstar Zach Bryan for the most of any artist. Other Irish artists appearing in the top 100 include Amble, Hozier, Fontaines DC, Jazzy, and Kneecap. In total, sales from Irish artists made up 21.5% of the top 100.

For the second year running, Taylor Swift had the biggest album of the year in Ireland, with The Life of a Showgirl proving to be an even bigger hit than last year’s The Tortured Poet’s Department, amassing over 42,747 album equivalent sales (AES). The album only narrowly beat Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet, which had 42,700 AES, and Noah Kahan’s Stick Season with 41,734 AES. Oasis saw an emphatic return to the Irish charts with three albums re-entering the top 30, including their compilation Time Flies at #7. 

Reverie, the debut album by Amble, was the biggest Irish album of the year with over 38,938 AES. The album also produced four of the most streamed tracks this year, with Lonely Island, Schoolyard Days, Tonnta, and Mary’s Pub all making the top 50. These figures make it the biggest Irish album since Dermot Kennedy’s Without Fear in 2020, surpassing that album’s streaming performance in a single year.

Vinyl sales saw an increase in 2025, with 478,000 sold, a massive 20% increase on 2024, helped by strong performances from Irish artists and enormous sales for Swift. Releases by Fontaines DC, CMAT, Kingfishr, Amble, and Kneecap all appear in the top 10 vinyl albums sold this year. This was a marked improvement on 2024, which saw just two Irish artists in the top 50 (Fontaines DC & Hozier).

Physical sales of CDs and even cassette tapes also saw a healthy increase of 4.5% and 64% respectively. Swift again tops the list for total physical albums sold by a large margin.

On the home front, Fontaines DC’s Romance was the best-selling physical album by an Irish act for the second year running, and second-biggest overall, with over 7,795 sales across all formats. Releases by Kingfishr, Amble, and CMAT also appear in the top 10 for total physical sales.

Commenting on an exciting year for Irish music, IRMA chairman Willie Kavanagh said: “2025 marks a particularly exciting year for Irish music. In an ever-changing landscape, Irish acts are making their mark on a global stage, with Fontaines DC, Hozier and CMAT emerging as world beaters. At home, the phenomenal chart performances of Kingfishr and Amble show the confidence and strength of our domestic music scene, and demonstrates what can be achieved across genres with the right support and environment.

“As Ireland takes up the Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2026, the vibrancy of Irish music serves as a reminder of our responsibility to support and nurture human creativity. With discussions on the digital single market and artificial intelligence, we hope that the Irish Presidency will lead the way in ensuring the full implementation and retention of copyright protections. As a country with flourishing culture and tech sectors, Ireland is uniquely placed to shepherd these discussions towards a solution that ensures a vibrant licensing market where our homegrown artists can reach new heights.”

Image credit: Paul Hudson from United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>;, via Wikimedia Commons