Your Hero of 2024?
All of our Irish Olympians in Paris. They brought us joy, pride, medals and hair-bows this summer.

Villain of 2024?
Benjamin Netanyahu.

Best Personal Moment?
Getting to surprise my niece Lily with Taylor Swift tickets, and seeing her love the show and Taylor at the Aviva.

Best Movie or TV show?
Small Things Like These for Best Movie. Cillian Murphy can convey so much emotion without saying anything. It’s such an important story about Ireland’s terrible past. My favourite TV show was a bit of light relief in Nobody Wants This – I actually inhaled this comedy. It was shot so well with a sharp wit.

Best record?
FontainesD.C.’s Romance and Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft. But I also want to name Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and Kneecap’s Fine Art. 

Best book?
Technically it’s from 2023, but I read it in 2024 – Paul Lynch’s Prophet Song was incredible. He writes with no punctuation on purpose, which really added to the urgency and stress in the story. Some may say it’s a dystopian story, but it also conveyed just how quickly we could descend into civil war here in Ireland.

Best thing you saw online?
The Kabin Crew and the Lisdoonvarna crew blowing up Tiktok and Instagram internationally with their song ‘The Spark’ – what an earworm! Delighted for the kids.

Your hope for next year?
That Liam and Noel decide to put on another few Croke Park dates, and that I get a ticket at last, without dynamic pricing...

What tickled your funnybone?
The Portal to New York In Dublin, and the fact that we sometimes can’t have nice things. The antics that people got up to and the divilment really made me laugh.

• Tracy Clifford will be championing new Irish music from 10 new 2FM Rising acts on her weekly radio show in 2025. For more visit rte.ie/2fmrising 

As Christmas and New Year hurtle ever closer – capping off another phenomenal 12 months of Irish music, sport, film, literature and more  – we're thrilled to present the brand new Hot Press Annual!

Inside, you'll find captivating conversations with Fontaines D.C., KNEECAP, Jazzy, LYRA, The Mary Wallopers, Gurriers, Daniel Wiffen, Irish Artists For Palestine and more – all taking us through their highlights of the year. Plus, the HP critics deliver their verdict on 2024 – including all the top albums, tracks, movies, books, quotes, photos and events...