The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show's annual End of Year Poll results are in & they didn't disappoint. There was a few surprises but all deserving winners. So if you missed it this morning, here's a re-cap...
Overall Song of the Year: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - SOB
It was our song of the week back in August and from the first morning we played it, we have been inundated every morning by people wondering who it is. By the amount of tweets & texts since August, it's the song that has had the most impact on our listeners. Nathaniel even recorded an acceptance speech upon hearing of his win:
And here is the song in question. What a tune!
Irish Song of the Year: Gavin James – Bitter Pill
Despite a close run with two Kodaline songs, The One & Love Will Set You Free, we can reveal that the Irish song of the year as voted by the listeners of the breakfast show is Bitter Pill by Gavin James. A great guy & so deserving.
He joined Ian this morning to accept his award.
And here is the song in question. Gavin revealed on the show last week that he can't drive so when you watch the video, look out for some serious driving poses!
Album of the Year: 25 - Adele
The music business didn't know what hit it in November of this year when Adele released her third album '25'.
25 has sold 5.19 million copies in the US alone. And people say nobody buys CDs anymore wha?
Irish Man of the Year: Paul O’Connell
This one was very close between Conor McGregor, Rory O'Neill & Paul O'Connell & Paulie just nicked it by a few votes.
His 108th and last appearance for Ireland happened in that amazing game against France in RWC 15 where like a true warrior & leader, he had to be carried off the pitch.
Paul O'Connell is your Irish Man of 2015.
Irish Woman of the Year: Saoirse Ronan
With talk of a guarenteed Oscar nomination and a potential Oscar win, Saoirse Ronan is very much the woman of the moment. A few months back she came into studio during the press run for Brooklyn and we spoke about the real issues of the day...like the chip war in Howth!
Movie of the Year: Brooklyn
Set in 1952, 'Eilis Lacey' played by Saoirse above, is a young woman from a small town in Ireland. Eilis's older sister Rose arranged for her to go to the USA to find a better future. The Breakfast Show team have all seen it and we admit, there were tears!
Gift Grub of the Year: Rugby Like We Do
Aired in February when Ireland met England in the Six Nations & with over 50,000 replays on todayfm.com, this Gift was a runaway winner. Enjoy!
Book of the Year: The Girl On The Train
"Start re-thinking my drinking" was what Mairead Ronan said after she put this book down. With over 6.5 million copies sold worldwide, The Girl On The Train won this section by a landslide.
Soap of the Year: Red Rock
Closely pushed by Emmerdale all the way, TV3's Red Rock was crowned best soap of 2015.
Listeners Poll 2015 Best Soap: @RedRockTV3. THIS IS NOT A FIX! Well done all involved. Emmerdale a close 2nd! @todayfm
— Ian Dempsey (@IanDempsey) December 17, 2015
Breakfast Show Moment of the Year: The Special Olympics OB’s in LA
In the last week of July 2015, the Breakfast Show were sent to sunny Los Angeles to cover The Special Olympics World Games and report back on the success of the team. It was our favourite OB of the year and by far, your show moment of 2015. When counting the votes, there were a few recurring moments from the trip. They included:
Colin Farrell reading an extract from George Hook's erotic novel...
And finally, there was the moment when Dearbhail Savage found out she won a gold medal in equestrian while we were interviewing her - a magic moment!
The Irish Moment of 2015: Marriage Referendum Vote
Ireland voted by a margin of more than 467,000 to pass the Marriage Equality Bill, paving the way for same-sex marriage in the country. It made Ireland the first country in the world to make same-sex marriage legal by popular vote.
A good way to remember that day in May is this great video by the guys at GAZE. Enjoy!
Sporting Moment of The Year: Ireland qualifying for The European Championships
It's early Sept 2015 and most Irish fans have put the passports away as qualifying for France 2016 is looking unlikely. Then a 4-0 win against Gibraltar. Georgia beat Scotland. Then we beat Georgia 1-0. And then we did the impossible - we only beat the world champions Germany at the Aviva...
After qualifying in third place in the group, we met Bosnia, won 3-1 on aggregate and are now on the road to France. There's 50,000 fans expected to arrive in France next June so we marked the occasion this morning by speaking to Ireland left back, Stephen Ward about the summer, that Robbie Brady goal in the fog in Bosnia and how different this Euros will be to the last!
So that's it for another year. If you read the whole post, fair play to you. 2015 is one to be remembered.
Cheers,
The Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show Crew
