MRS BROWN’S BOYS was the biggest programme of the Christmas period for RTÉ, attracting nearly 700,000 viewers on average.

Mrs Brown’s Boys: Mammy’s Mummy was the most popular festive programme on Irish television this year pulling in an average of 695,000 viewers and a 42% audience share on RTÉ One on Christmas Day.

The special was followed by Brown Bag Films’ Angela’s Christmas, based on the writing of Frank McCourt and featuring the voice of Ruth Negga, which charmed the nation as it was watched by 417,000 and a 34% share. The big Christmas Day movie, Brooklyn, was watched by 379,000 people, while Jurassic World attracted 306,000 yesterday.

Meanwhile, soap fans enjoyed an hour-long Fair City on Christmas Day, with an average of 310,000 tuning in.

An average of 307,000 watched Carols from the Castle on RTÉ One on Christmas Eve, in which Mary Kennedy was joined by a cast of singers and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Nathan Carter’s Christmas Special which saw the country singer joined by former Spice Girl Melanie C, legendary American singer Curtis Stigers, and Una Healy, was watched by 293,000.

Last week Fairytale of New York, a documentary in which Shane MacGowan reminisced about the writing of the song with interviews from Paul Simon, Billy Bragg and Christy Moore was also a big hit with Christmas viewers on RTÉ One, as it was watched by 461,000 viewers.

Read: What Percent Mrs Brown Are You?

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More