AS ANY FREQUENT reader knows, comments are part of the lifeblood around here.
Whether they make you laugh, roll your eyes, punch the keyboard, nod your head, or just think about something in a different way, the reaction from readers is an integral part of the news stories that we publish.
There was a clearly obvious theme among the articles which got the most comments this year: They were mainly topical news stories which people felt strongly about: same-sex marriage, Joan Burton, Israel, racism, water charges, G***h B****s and Mary Lou McDonald all make the top ten.
Here’s the list in full of the articles which got the most comments this year.
1. Enda Kenny: It’s either water charges, or a 4% tax increase, or ‘boiling water for decades’. Number of comments: 717
2. All FIVE Garth Brooks concerts have been cancelled. Number of comments: 692
3. Dáil adjourned until Tuesday after Mary Lou stages four-hour sit-in. Number of comments: 686
4. Opinion: Water fluoridation is controversial, but trust evidence over scaremongering. Number of comments: 626
5. Two arrested over protest that trapped Joan Burton in her car for hours. Number of comments: 605
6. Israeli Deputy Ambassador calls some Irish protesters an ‘ignorant, anti-Semitic mob’. Number of comments: 579
7. Confirmed: Here’s how much you’ll be paying for water – and what happens if you don’t. Number of comments: 552
8. Poll: Would you support the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland? Number of comments: 546
9. Racist graffiti painted opposite Immigrant Council offices. Number of comments: 542
10. Open Letter to RTE: Explain why you censored gay rights advocate Rory O’Neill. Number of comments: 515
All figures correct at the time of being compiled
Read: The 10 most read stories on TheJournal.ie in 2014 >
Read: The 10 most popular comments on TheJournal.ie in 2014 >
And just for comparison: Here are our top 10 most commented-on articles in 2013 >
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