Every homegrown female Number 1 on the Official Irish Albums Chart

We look back the Irish women who topped the charts previously.
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Dating back to when modern chart history began in January 1997, 21 albums from 11 female artists or female-fronted bands have reached Number 1 on the Official Irish Albums Chart.

With global talents like Ed Sheeran and Adele alone spending over 100 weeks at Number 1 in Ireland over the years, having an average of around one Irish female topping the charts each year isn't bad going. And while there can always be more, any representation is a cause for celebration, which is what we're doing today.

The most recent occurrence in April 2021 saw Imelda May become the Irish female solo artist to claim a Number 1 album in almost five years with her sixth record 11 Past The Hour. The record is Imelda's fourth chart-topper on home turf following her three rockabilly albums Love Tattoo in 2009, Mayhem the following the year, and Tribal in 2014.

MORE: Acts with the most Number 1 albums this millennium on the Official Irish Albums Chart

With six Number 1s under their belts, The Corrs have topped the charts the most among female-fronted acts. Two of Andrea, Caroline and Sharon (and Jim!)'s LPs Talk On Corners and In Blue also claim the joint-most weeks at the top of the Official Irish Albums Chart for an Irish female act, alongside folk legend Mary Black's 25 Years - 25 Songs - those albums all managed four weeks at Number 1.

Mary Black retrospectives The Best Of: 1991-2001 and 25 Years - 25 Songs both hit the helm of the Top 50, while Lisa Hannigan has a pair of chart toppers to her name: 2011's Passenger and 2016's At Swim.

MORE: The female solo artists with the most Number 1 albums this millennium in Ireland

X Factor's Mary Byrne claimed the fastest-selling debut album of the 2010s with her album Mine & Yours, a Number 1 in 2011, while women who have topped the charts as part of female-fronted include Faye O'Rourke of Little Green Cars (now part of Soda Blonde), Ham Sandwich's Niamh Farrell and Sorcha Durham of Walking on Cars.

With so much female talent gaining momentum at the moment, we reckon it's not long before female groups like Wyvern Lingo and Pillow Queens and soloists such as Orla Gartland and CMAT take their place on this list.

Every Number 1 on the Official Irish Albums Chart by a female act

ALBUM ARTIST YEAR WEEKS AT #1
TALK ON CORNERS THE CORRS 1997 4
UNPLUGGED THE CORRS 1999 3
IN BLUE THE CORRS 2000 4
THE BEST OF THE CORRS THE CORRS 2001 1
THE BEST OF MARY BLACK 1991-2001 MARY BLACK 2001 2
BORROWED HEAVEN THE CORRS 2004 1
HOME THE CORRS 2005 1
25 YEARS - 25 SONGS MARY BLACK 2008 4
THE GALWAY GIRL: THE BEST OF SHARON SHANNON 2008 2
LOVE TATTOO IMELDA MAY 2009 2
THE NAMELESS CATHY DAVEY 2010 1
MAYHEM IMELDA MAY 2010 1
MINE & YOURS MARY BYRNE 2011 2
PASSENGER LISA HANNIGAN 2011 1
ABSOLUTE ZERO LITTLE GREEN CARS 2013 1
TRIBAL IMELDA MAY 2014 2
I'M NOT BOSSY, I'M THE BOSS SINEAD O'CONNOR 2014 1
STORIES FROM THE SURFACE HAM SANDWICH 2015 1
EVERYTHING THIS WAY WALKING ON CARS 2016 3
AT SWIM LISA HANNIGAN 2016 1
11 PAST THE HOUR IMELDA MAY 2021 1

©2021 IRMA/Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

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