The Most Famous

SINGERS from Ireland

This page contains a list of the greatest Irish Singers. The pantheon dataset contains 4,381 Singers, 39 of which were born in Ireland. This makes Ireland the birth place of the 21st most number of Singers behind Finland, and Poland.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Irish Singers of all time. This list of famous Irish Singers is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography's online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Irish Singers.

1. Sinéad O'Connor (1966 - 2023)

With an HPI of 75.08, Sinéad O'Connor is the most famous Irish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 77 different languages on wikipedia.

Shuhada' Sadaqat (born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor; shin-AYD, Irish Gaelic: [ˈʃɪnʲed̪ˠ]; 8 December 1966 – 26 July 2023) was an Irish singer-songwriter, record producer and activist. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and achieved international chart success. Her 1990 album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, was her biggest commercial success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Nothing Compares 2 U", was named the top world single of the year at the Billboard Music Awards. O'Connor achieved chart success with Am I Not Your Girl? (1992) and Universal Mother (1994), both certified gold in the UK, as well as Faith and Courage (2000), certified gold in Australia. Throw Down Your Arms (2005) achieved gold status in Ireland. Her career encompassed songs for films, collaborations with numerous artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts. O'Connor's memoir, Rememberings, was released in 2021 and became a bestseller. O'Connor drew attention to issues such as child abuse, human rights, racism, and women's rights. During a Saturday Night Live performance in 1992, nearly a decade before the world became fully aware of the prolific sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church, she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II to protest against the abuse, sparking controversy by those who did not know or who were hiding the truth of the scandal. Throughout her musical career, she openly discussed her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political viewpoints, and her experiences with trauma and struggles with mental health. Having converted to Islam in 2018, she adopted the name Shuhada' Sadaqat while continuing to perform and record under her birth name. In 2024, O'Connor was posthumously nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2. Enya (b. 1961)

With an HPI of 69.73, Enya is the 2nd most famous Irish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 108 different languages.

Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan) known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer and composer. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide, Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist, and the second-best-selling music act from Ireland overall, after only the rock band U2. Her music has been widely recognised for its use of multi-layers of her own vocals and instrumentation, lengthened reverb, and interwoven elements of Celtic music. Raised in the Irish-speaking region of Gweedore, Enya began her musical career in 1980 playing alongside her family's Irish folk band Clannad. She left Clannad in 1982 to pursue a solo career, working with the former Clannad manager and producer, Nicky Ryan, and his wife Roma, as their lyricist. Over the following four years, Enya further developed her sound by combining multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements from a variety of musical genres, such as Celtic, classical, church, jazz, hip-hop, ambient, world, and Irish folk. Her earliest solo releases were two piano/synthesiser instrumentals for the Touch Travel T4 cassette compilation (1984) composed around 1982–83. The majority of the soundtrack for The Frog Prince (1985) was composed by Enya, and she sang two songs with lyrics for the project. Enya also composed a body of work for a documentary series by the BBC named The Celts. A selection of Enya's pieces for The Celts were released as her self-titled debut album in 1986, with the documentary and BBC Records releases in 1987. The chairman of Warner Music at the time, Rob Dickins, enjoyed listening to Enya's music for The Celts and signed her with Warner Music UK. The initial record deal granted her considerable artistic freedom and minimal interference. The success of her second studio album, Watermark (1988), propelled Enya to worldwide fame, primarily through her international hit single "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)". In the following decade and up to the new millennium, she released the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995), and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of A Day Without Rain and its lead single, "Only Time", surged in the United States following its use in media coverage of the September 11 attacks. Her subsequent releases included Amarantine (2005), And Winter Came... (2008) and Dark Sky Island (2015). "Boadicea", a track from her eponymous album, appeared in the soundtrack of Stephen King's 1992 horror film Sleepwalkers and has since been sampled in several hit songs, including "Ready or Not" (1996) by Fugees and "I Don't Wanna Know" (2004) featuring Mario Winans, which became the second Number 1 single featuring Enya, in the UK charts. The song, featuring both the synthesiser and Enya humming the melody, continues to be sampled almost 4 decades since its first release in 1986. Enya's accolades include four Grammy Awards and six World Music Awards, and she holds the record as the most-nominated female Irish artist at the BRIT Awards, with four nominations. "May It Be", her composition from the soundtrack of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. In March 2025, Enya received the RTÉ Choice Music Prize Classic Irish Album award, with her 1988 breakthrough album Watermark.

3. Bob Geldof (b. 1951)

With an HPI of 64.95, Bob Geldof is the 3rd most famous Irish Singer. His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Robert Frederick Zenon Geldof (; born 5 October 1951) is an Irish singer-songwriter and political activist. He rose to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the Irish rock band the Boomtown Rats, who achieved popularity as part of the punk rock movement. The band had UK number one hits with his co-compositions "Rat Trap" and "I Don't Like Mondays". Geldof starred as Pink in Pink Floyd's 1982 film Pink Floyd – The Wall. As a fundraiser, Geldof organised the charity supergroup Band Aid and the concerts Live Aid and Live 8, and co-wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?", one of the best-selling singles to date. Geldof is widely recognised for his activism, especially his anti-poverty efforts concerning Africa. In 1984, he and Midge Ure founded the charity supergroup Band Aid to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. They went on to organise the charity super-concert Live Aid the following year and the Live 8 concerts in 2005. Geldof currently serves as an adviser to the ONE Campaign, co-founded by fellow Irish rock singer and activist Bono, and is a member of the Africa Progress Panel (APP), a group of ten distinguished individuals who advocate at the highest levels for equitable and sustainable development in Africa. Geldof was granted an honorary knighthood (KBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1986 for his charity work in Africa: it is an honorary award as Geldof is an Irish citizen, but he is often referred to as 'Sir Bob'. He is a recipient of the Man of Peace title which recognises individuals who have made "an outstanding contribution to international social justice and peace", among numerous other awards and nominations. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music.

4. Niall Horan (b. 1993)

With an HPI of 60.75, Niall Horan is the 4th most famous Irish Singer. His biography has been translated into 55 different languages.

Niall James Horan ( NY-əl HOR-ən; born 13 September 1993) is an Irish singer-songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member of the boy band One Direction, formed in 2010 on the singing competition The X Factor. The group released five albums and went on to become one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. After the band declared a hiatus in 2016, Horan signed a recording deal as a solo artist with Capitol Records. He has since released three albums: Flicker (2017), Heartbreak Weather (2020), and The Show (2023). Flicker debuted at No. 1 in Ireland and the US, and reached the top three in Australia and the UK. The album's first two singles, "This Town" and "Slow Hands", reached the top 20 in several countries. Heartbreak Weather was released in March 2020, and debuted at No. 1 in the UK, Ireland and Mexico, and at No. 4 in the US. Horan released his third studio album, The Show, in June 2023, after dropping the singles "Heaven" in February and "Meltdown" in April.

5. Hozier (b. 1990)

With an HPI of 59.22, Hozier is the 5th most famous Irish Singer. His biography has been translated into 44 different languages.

Andrew John Hozier-Byrne (born 17 March 1990), known professionally as Hozier ( HOH-zee-ər), is an Irish musician. His music primarily draws from folk, soul and blues, often using religious and literary themes and taking political or social justice stances. His debut single, "Take Me to Church" (2013), became a rock radio hit in the U.S., peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified multi-platinum in several countries. His eponymous debut studio album (2014) has been certified 6× platinum in Ireland and multi-platinum in several other countries. His EP Nina Cried Power (2018), which featured the title track as a single, reached number one on the Billboard Adult Alternative Songs chart. His second album, Wasteland, Baby! (2019), debuted atop the Irish Albums Chart and the Billboard 200, and was certified gold in the U.S. In late 2022, Hozier collaborated with Bear McCreary on the song "Blood Upon the Snow" for the video game God of War: Ragnarök. His third studio album, Unreal Unearth (2023), was released on Rubyworks Records and debuted at number one on the Irish and UK charts. In 2024, he released the EP Unheard, which includes his first number-one single in Ireland, the US, and the UK, "Too Sweet". Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2025.

6. Brian McFadden (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 58.23, Brian McFadden is the 6th most famous Irish Singer. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Brian Nicholas McFadden (born 12 April 1980) is an Irish pop singer and television presenter. He rose to fame in 1998 as a member of the Irish boy band Westlife. Following his departure from the group in 2004, McFadden released his debut solo album, Irish Son. He has since released four studio albums: Set in Stone (2008), Wall of Soundz (2010), The Irish Connection (2013), and Otis (2019). McFadden has also released two albums, Strings Attached (2020) and Old School (2022), in collaboration with Keith Duffy of Boyzone.

7. Markus Feehily (b. 1980)

With an HPI of 57.41, Markus Feehily is the 7th most famous Irish Singer. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Markus Michael Patrick Feehily (born 28 May 1980) is an Irish singer, best known as a member of the pop vocal group Westlife. Westlife has released twelve albums, embarked on thirteen world tours and won several awards, becoming one of the most successful musical groups of all time. With 15 number one appearances, Feehily is also the highest-charting LGBT performer on the UK Singles Chart.

8. Luke Kelly (1940 - 1984)

With an HPI of 54.23, Luke Kelly is the 8th most famous Irish Singer. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Luke Kelly (17 November 1940 – 30 January 1984) was an Irish singer, folk musician and actor from Dublin, Ireland. Born into a working-class household in Dublin city, Kelly moved to England in his late teens and by his early 20s had become involved in the folk music revival there. Returning to Dublin in the 1960s, he became a founding member of the band The Dubliners in 1962. The Irish Post and other commentators regard Kelly, known for his distinctive singing style and sometimes political messages, as one of Ireland's greatest folk singers.

9. Charlie McGettigan (b. 1950)

With an HPI of 52.93, Charlie McGettigan is the 9th most famous Irish Singer. His biography has been translated into 24 different languages.

Charles Joseph McGettigan (born 7 December 1950, Ballyshannon, County Donegal) is an Irish singer. He lived in 2009 in Drumshanbo, County Leitrim.

10. Róisín Murphy (b. 1973)

With an HPI of 52.93, Róisín Murphy is the 10th most famous Irish Singer. Her biography has been translated into 38 different languages.

Róisín Marie Murphy ( roh-SHEEN, Irish Gaelic: [ɾˠoːˈʃiːnʲ]; born 5 July 1973) is an Irish singer, songwriter and record producer who first became known in the 1990s as one half of the pop duo Moloko alongside the English musician Mark Brydon. After the breakup of Moloko, Murphy embarked on a solo career and released her debut solo album Ruby Blue (2005), which she wrote and produced with the experimental musician Matthew Herbert, to critical praise. Her second solo album Overpowered was released in 2007. In 2015, after an eight-year hiatus that was sporadically interrupted by non-album singles, side projects and guest appearances on other artists' records, Murphy released her third solo album Hairless Toys, which was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize and Ireland's Choice Music Prize. The following year, she released her fourth album Take Her Up to Monto. In 2018, she released four twelve-inch (30 cm) releases in collaboration with producer Maurice Fulton. Murphy released her fifth and sixth solo albums Róisín Machine and Hit Parade, which received critical acclaim, in 2020 and 2023, respectively.

People

Pantheon has 39 people classified as Irish singers born between 1939 and 1996. Of these 39, 34 (87.18%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Irish singers include Enya, Bob Geldof, and Niall Horan. The most famous deceased Irish singers include Sinéad O'Connor, Luke Kelly, and Barney McKenna. As of April 2024, 39 new Irish singers have been added to Pantheon including Sinéad O'Connor, Enya, and Bob Geldof.