Ahem what about The Frames? surely you don't rate Lir ahead of them or what the Hothouse Flowers It's not a tumor

Therapy? definitely 'and jesus did feed the fecophiliacs loaves and fish, more specifically pinched loaves and chocolate salmon'

like Lir their lifespan was far too short but even still Whipping Boy would have to get my vote.

Actually I reckon it must be Ash. They have released 5 of the best pop songs in the history of music.

does best mean the most album sales or does it mean respect from their peers, because if it means respect from their peers and indeed from their heroes then my vote has to reside in the ruby horse camp on this one, how many irish bands have had the balls to give it all up move to america and start from scratch with no contacts two guitars and nowhere to live and within three years be signed to island defjam record a song wit the late great george harrison and have the same manager as bob dylan, these guys are on the verge of something major and i plan to sit back and enjoy watching a great irish band make it to the top

you know rubyhorse?? wow, they are amazing, i hear they might be taking a trip over here soon, can't wait, their album rise is one of my favourites...

Thats good to know i have it as well and i rckon it is a close second behind the bosses the rising for album of the year

whaddabout... ...the sewing room...or ...rollerskate skinny maybe the best bands or maybe just makers of the two best albums

'Em' mentioned above the Rubyhorse album. It ain't yet got a wide release over here as far as I know. But you can pick it up for next to nothing on ebay. I just picked it up after winning an auction with a $2 bid.... Feck buying 22 Euro albums in HMV or Tower or wherever, Ebay is the way to go. Even with the P&P charges factored in. Baby. eoghan

or for pure quality what about The Prayerboat?

Sack are pretty good - very underrated too. I'm not saying they're the best but some of there songs are really excellent

thats fair enough picking up a cheap copy of the album on ebay it will be on general release here early in the new year and will be a lot cheaper then, but i have this philosophy against copying cds of bands that are trying to make it big, i feel that i am cheating them, i have no problem doing it when it is someone like david gray who doesn't need me to fork out 20 quid for his album but bands that are trying to mke it do need me to pay good money for the record

Quote: "Actually I reckon it must be Ash. They have released 5 of the best pop songs in the history of music." Are you taking the piss?

so afro how much did you pay for your rubyhorse album? ;) i got a present of mine from a kind stranger...

Dunno how to define the best irish band of the decade but i think the stunning and the waterboys (both shoulda done better internationaly than they did) should get a mention

what about six and their masterful version of whole lot of loving - these young tigers are gonna rip apart the oppostion

Surely U2 followed by the criminally underrated Hothouse Flowers!!

i think an enduring favourite had to have been the pague monkeys. i loved whipping boy at a certain stage, but now they seema bit pointlessly angry. weren't the waterboys a not irish but "celtic in a general type of way" band?

plague monkeys were a great band. i thought the waterboys were a "not irish" band as such?

as such meaning that they didnt come from ireland but did record an album here, they also mysteriously made into tom dunnes latest addition, good band all the same

There's a few in the making I think, like *Redneckmanifesto Turn (well dunno how the new bassplayer will fare) The Things Johnny Pyro Hi Rise the crayonZ Or some have been and gone too quickly like Rollar skate Skinny (speed to my side has got to be one of the best Irish songs ever) Whipping Boy notable mentions the frames (the band everyone loves to hate but they are actually good and have consistently produced great albums) Mundy (not a band I know but he deserves a mention)

This is a tough one......... I'd have to choose from The Frames,Whipping Boy or The Frank and Walters. U2 have to get an honourable mention for 'All That You....",their best record since 'Achtung Baby'.

The walls and the prayerboat are both amazing bands with incredibly talented songwriters amazing...............

Does anyone remember The Pale? They were a brilliant band. Can't remember the name of the song but the lyrics "I am the butterfly, shed my father's clothes" might ring a bell? They had a couple of good singles - weird lookin' bunch of lads, singer was as a bald as Kojak. Also - I know that they weren't Irish, but does anyone remember a band called The Icicle Works?

The Cubik Nostrils were this mad punk band that my neighbour used to be in too...it was fairly short lived (as is the nature of punk bands) but I reckon they deserve a mention for their name alone!!! Revelion were an amazing band - their first album is classic, 'Happiness is Mine' is a fantastic song, (as are nearly all the songs on it) - what are they up to these days? I know Bren was venue manager or something for Vicar Street for a while, nice bloke too.

i remember the pale.i actually still have some of their stuff and it's great. "the butterfly" "mother nature is a man," and "dogs with no tales"(no sense of direction etc.). and a humorous song that had the lyrics "i seek him here i seek him there i seek him everywhere has anybody seen my willy?"-come to think of it, it was called "willy song". can anyone remember the name of the album?if memory serves it was quite amusing.

Duh....I just realised that I spelt Revelino arseways - sorry lads!! 'Dog with no Tail' is deadly (Pale)- and had a brilliant video too but I totally can't remembr the name of the album though.

sultans of ping FC is jolly jolly good too

Juliet Turner would probably get my vote - although obviously she's not a band (unless she has a whole lot of instrument-playing invisible people hiding behind her on stage) - but nonetheless she's Irish and very talented.

If 'The Cubik Nostrils' deserve a mention for their name what about Galway band 'Fuctifino', don't know if it's original.... but it's definitely mighty wicked. I think if U2 hadn't received their worldwide 'superstardom' status they'd be a lot of peoples favourites. Aah backlash. It's a cruel world.

The Pale album was called "Why Go Bald"... It was a bloody great album too. The Stunning were definately one of my favourites