2025: An amazing year for Irish music
Eva Osborne
Music made by Irish artists has certainly been in the spotlight this year, both at home and abroad.
From CMAT's third studio album Euro-Country to Kingfishr's Killeagh dominating Ireland's airwaves, 2025 has been an amazing year for Irish music.
Let's go through some of the highlights.
Kneecap
Belfast rap trio Kneecap saw a surge in popularity in 2025.
They performed on the main stage at Electric Picnic, were announced as the first headliner for All Together Now 2026, and released singles 'The Recap', 'SayÅnara', and 'No Comment', on the back of the success of their debut album Fine Art, which was released last year.
They broke records with their performance at Electric Picnic, and drew in a crowd the likes of which has only been seen when The Wolfe Tones played on the same stage the year before.
The group are no strangers to making headlines, as member Mo Chara (Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh) was in the spotlight quite a bit this year for having a terrorism case brought against him in the UK.
The case was thrown out following a technical error in the way the charge against him was brought.
In more recent news, the group announced a collaboration with Micil Distillery in Galway to release their own poitín.
Kingfishr and Amble
Irish folk groups Kingfishr and Amble enjoyed surges in popularity this year. Both groups performed on the main stage at this year's Electric Picnic.
Kingfishr's hit 'Killeagh' reached Number 1 on the Irish Singles Chart in May, at which stage it had already been certified four-times Platinum in Ireland.
Their debut album Halcyon was released in August and reached Number 1st on the Irish Albums Chart.
They will soon played two sold-out gigs in Dublin's 3Arena, and are surely still on a high from their appearance on RTÉ's Late Late Toy Show!
Irish folk band Amble, formed in 2022, found their feet in 2025.
Their debut album Reverie was released in May 2025, and peaked at Number 1 on the Irish Albums Chart.
Also in 2025, the group joined Hozier's Unreal Unearth Tour, appearing as an opening act in Boston (Massachusetts), Casper (Wyoming) and Toronto (Ontario).
They played two sold-out gigs in Dublin's 3Arena on December 11th and 12th.
CMAT
I don't care what anyone else says, 2025 was CMAT's year.
The Dunboyne Diana released an extraordinary third album in the form of Euro-Country, which peaked at Number 1 on the Irish Albums Chart.
It also peaked at Number 2 on the Scottish Singles and Albums Charts and UK Albums Chart.
She was nominated for the Mercury Prize for Album of the Year, and she headlined All Together Now 2025.
Her appearances at Glastonbury and Primavera must be highlighted, as the audiences she garnered at both are a testament to her surge in popularity outside Ireland this year.
After playing a sold-out gig in Dublin's 3Arena last Friday, she somehow made it to the Late Late Toy Show to see one of her songs performed by a group of children. She really can do it all.
