Ryan Tubridy has retained his position as Ireland’s most admired TV/radio personality while Hozier narrowly missed out on ending Bono’s five-year rein as the top music and entertainment star, according to a study undertaken by sponsorship advisors ONSIDE.
Tubridy – who joined Virgin Radio in 2024 - tops the TV/radio list for the 11th year in a row, followed by his Late Late show successor Patrick Kielty and fellow RTÉ Presenter Claire Byrne.
ONSIDE’s Director of Intelligence and Insight, Kim Kirwan explains: “Tubridy remains top of the list in 2024 as the most admired TV/radio personality but at lower levels than previous years due to his absence from Irish television. Kielty is the biggest climber in this year’s list, up seven spots from 2023, while Claire Byrne is the only female in the top 10, ranking as the most popular of all amongst over 65 year olds.”
Bono is Ireland’s most admired music star for the fifth year in a row, but Hozier has run him closer than ever, rising to second spot for the first time in his career. Folk legend Christy Moore is in third place in an all-male top five that also includes Daniel O’Donnell and Dermot Kennedy.
Kirwan adds: “Hozier’s score in 2024 is higher than any artist except Bono since we started tracking musicians in 2020 meaning we can start to talk about him being one of the ‘big two’ in Irish music. The three female artists in the Top 10 are Sinead O’Connor, Imelda May and Enya.”
Hozier is one of only three artists in the Top 10 most admired musicians in his 30’s, the others being Kennedy and Niall Horan. When it comes to younger audiences, the picture is quite different. For Ireland’s 18-24 year olds, Hozier is comfortably ahead of Bono as the most admired musician and contemporary artists such as Jazzy and Kneecap feature in their top five.