Storms, GAA clashes and crime: The stories that caught readers’ attention in 2025
When a presidential election takes place, it’s reasonable to predict a couple of related stories will populate the very top of the annual most-read lists. In 2025, the election appears more generally, but not as high as you might think. The Irish presidential election perhaps never really caught fire in the way previous iterations have – that’s written all over the reader figures. The election is missing from the very top of the charts, with just one piece in the top 25 most-read: “Who will be Ireland’s ‘first gentleman’? The man behind Catherine Connolly” - finished in 22nd place. To be fair, the vote had a much better showing within the top 50 or so, with our live coverage of Catherine Connolly’s predicted landslide win in October finishing in 30th place. When it came to the most prominent topics catching our readers’ attention this year, there was a clear winner: the weather. Not a surprise, really. Red alerts, power cuts, flooding and expensive clean-ups impact a huge number of people each year as a handful of named storms reach our shores. READ MORE2025 in TV: Rogue brogues, the drunken Irish and a prestige streamer’s hidden jewelsMark O’Connell: You don’t think Jesus could return as AI? Talk to Joe RoganScrabble is not just about being the best speller or knowing long wordsTwenty years ago, The Irish Times tried to predict 2025. It got quite a few things rightStorm Éowyn arrived in January and became one of the most damaging Ireland has ever faced. Gusts of 184km/h broke wind records that stood since 1945. Hundreds of thousands lost power; 815,000 across the island, with 768,000 in the Republic. Such was the interest, the live story on Friday January 24th wound up being the top-read piece on irishtimes.com in 2025, outpacing every other story published in the past 12 months. Of the top 25 articles, six were weather-related; four Éowyn, one Storm Amy and one Storm Bram. A year ago, I wrote that live blogs dominated the lists in 2024. This is the year of extreme weather.In recent years, GAA finals have also become a mainstay, with two All-Ireland final live blogs drawing significant reader attention this year. Kerry’s clinching of the Sam Maguire from Donegal to claim their 39th All-Ireland football win came in at 18th. Not bad, but the hurling did better: Tipperary’s victory over Cork following a second-half score fest at Croke Park was covered live on the day and finished 12th most-read on the site overall. In other places across the top 25, stories of crime and tragedy feature prominently, as they often do. The second most-read story of the year, and not runner-up by much, was a piece by aviation journalist Gerry Byrne analysing some aspects of the crash of an Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner at Ahmedabad Airport in June. The piece was headlined: Air India crash: Early indication is that pilot decision to raise plane’s nose may have caused it to ‘pancake’.The third most-read was another Storm Éowyn piece, and the case of Kerry farmer Michael Gaine emerged as another story readers followed closely this year. Also widely-read was the story of an Irish woman living legally in the US for decades being detained after a visit to Ireland, which wound up seventh, reflecting the deep anxiety felt by non-citizens living in the US under an increasingly hostile Trump administration.Reading these lists year-in, year-out reveals patterns: weather, crime, tragedy and All-Ireland finals are subjects that readers are really interested in. But especially since the era of Covid lockdowns, the odd Leaving Cert piece is becoming something of a fixture. In 2024, the overall top-read story across the site struck to the human experience at the root of a high-level decision: one student’s story of losing out on their top college place in the CAO points “lottery”. Here it is, the most-read story from 2024: ‘She couldn’t have done better’: Leaving Cert student with maximum points misses out on college course due to lottery. There’s a feeling of deja vu reading number 15 from this year’s crop: ‘Inhumane’: Student who got maximum Leaving Cert points loses course in random selection. Of course, two articles is a tiny sample in the grand scheme, but it’s evident that the sting of unfairness shared by those two stories resonates with Irish Times readers. With the gradual unwinding of inflated Leaving Cert grades set to last for the time being, we may well be back here next year, telling the story of another bitterly disappointed student.THE TOP 25As it happened: Power cuts and widespread destruction in wake of Storm ÉowynAir India crash: Early indication is that pilot decision to raise plane’s nose may have caused it to ‘pancake’Storm Éowyn: How the day before the red alerts unfoldedMichael Gaine: Gardaí confirm body parts found in search for missing Kerry farmerDeath of Garda Kevin Flatley: Drew Harris calls for societal ‘reset’ on road safetyIrish woman living legally in US for decades detained after visiting her father in IrelandStorm Éowyn: Nationwide red wind warning as schools to close for one of the most severe storms Ireland has ever seenGarda raid on home of award-winning curry restaurant owner finds bank card in worker’s nameIreland weather update: Widespread snow expected with risk of school closures on MondayTwo HSE staff suspended with pay or on administrative leave for 11 yearsMary Ronan, separated wife of developer Johnny Ronan, leaves estate valued at €5.6 millionAll-Ireland hurling final – As it happened: Tipperary beat 14-man Cork to lift Liam MacCarthy CupWoman who died in Connemara house fire named as former US death row inmate Sunny JacobsAdult dies with listeriosis as food safety authority confirms ‘extensive’ outbreak‘Inhumane’: Student who got maximum Leaving Cert points loses course in random selectionSonia O’Sullivan: My worry for Rhasidat Adeleke is that she’s not being entirely open or honestRyan Tubridy marries Clare Kambamettu in west of Ireland ceremonyAll-Ireland football final: Kerry clinch title with win over Donegal - as it happenedAs it happened: Storm Amy hits the country as man (40s) diesDonald Trump, Conor McGregor praise each other’s work ethics during St Patrick’s Day meeting at the White HouseEmployee sacked after HR chief recorded him on phone call wins €10k for unfair dismissalWho will be Ireland’s ‘first gentleman’? The man behind Catherine ConnollyBudget 2026: Welfare, petrol, diesel and cigarettes rise, little change to income tax‘Throw out the Irish trash’: I’ve been to 15 Ryder Cups but this was a new lowStorm Bram: 25,000 homes and businesses without powerOTHER HIGHLIGHTSIt would be impossible to mention everything, but some groupings of articles within the engagement data give a good flavour of the year on irishtimes.com. From news and analysis, to longer reads and live stories, here’s what people were reading within some key subsections. And yes, of course, I thought there’d be more Troy Parrott in Sport. Sport in five linksPersonal finance in five linksHealth and Wellness in five linksFood in five linksOpinion/Irish Diary in five linksWorld in five linksVideo picksPodcast recap
