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THE IRISH PUBLIC were fascinated by the local, European and general elections over the past year, if our view count is anything to go by.
The focus of the top five stories across 2024 is dominated by the elections held in Ireland, as well as the Family and Care referendums.
Also among our top ten stories was our coverage of Storm Isha in January, a tragedy at the Cliffs of Moher, and reaction to the scoping inquiry report into sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders.
Here’s a look at the top 20 most read stories on The Journal last year.
Close to 523,000 people checking to see which councillor had been elected in their local authority in the days following June’s local elections.
A similar article, from the general election, took second place, with over 344,000 people clicking on the piece in the days after the 29 November vote.
More politics in the top three, this time a liveblog following the comprehensive defeat of the Family and Care referendums.
The first day of counting was a slog, and by midnight, only 31 of the 174 TDs of the new Dáil had been elected. Like number 3, this article was also a liveblog.
Another election liveblog, something we’ll be seeing more of on this list. Come midnight on day one of the local election count, only 100 councillors had been elected and the EU election count was yet to come.
Last January, Storm Isha hit Ireland and our coverage was led by the sad death of a male motorist in Mayo whose car left the road during difficult travelling conditions.
Perhaps a surprise inclusion in the top ten were plans for a “universal companion pass” to allow people over 70 to bring a loved one or friend on public transport free of charge.
In May, there was a tragedy on the Cliffs of Moher in Co Clare when a young woman lost her footing and fell to her death.
On 20 December, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said he “regrets” the €500 charge passengers had to pay the airline for one-way tickets from London to Dublin.
Rounding out the top ten was a database on The Journal which contained a list of the schools and the number of allegations and alleged abusers at each one.
This followed the scoping inquiry report into sexual abuse in schools run by religious orders, which identified 308 schools where alleged abuse took place.
Number 11 on our list is another election liveblog, this time as the counting at the general election started to wind down and recounts were being ordered due to some races coming down to the wire.
When we left the liveblog, a recount was looming in Tipperary North and Cork North Central, while no one was yet elected in Cavan-Monaghan despite two full days of counting.
In March, a 16-year-old girl died near the 3Arena in Dublin. She had been taken to the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The only poll to make it into the top 20 most read stories was one asking our readers if they were happy with Bambie Thug being chosen to represent Ireland at last year’s Eurovision.
Bambie Thug went on to finish in sixth place in a Song Contest filled with controversy.
In July, 11-year-old Clodagh Phelan tragically died in Majorca, Spain after falling from a balcony at her hotel in Alcudia.
Taoiseach Simon Harris said he was saddened to hear of the “tragic loss”.
“So much promise and personality was snatched away in a terrible accident,” said Harris.
In February, a coastal community in Waterford was in “disbelief” following the discovery of the body of six-year-old Matthew Healy near a seaside cove.
Matthew’s body was found in a car at Dunmore East, Co Waterford shortly after midnight on 9 February, 2024.
This article, published in September, revealed that a cyclist who gave helmet camera footage to gardaí of drivers using their phones and parking illegally was issued with a fixed penalty notice himself after the footage showed the cyclist cycling through a red light.
The cyclist asked the garda member if the other drivers that appear to be committing traffic offences in the same video would be prosecuted.
He alleged that they were advised to submit their questions in writing.
The cyclist did so, however they received no response or acknowledgement.
Another election liveblog, but this time from the European elections in June. The big talking point at the time was the fact that a slide for Sinn Féin in opinion polls was borne out in the results.
Not all of the most read liveblogs focused on elections; this one from March documented the immediate aftermath of the resignation of former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
In a statement announcing the shock move, Varadkar said that after seven years in office, “I am no longer the best person for that job”.
Donald Trump will begin his second term as US president later this month.
The polling had it as a toss-up, but Trump went on to score a decisive victory over Kamala Harris.
The Republican Party also went on to take control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar wasn’t the only high-profile Fine Gael figure to step away from politics last year.
Indeed, more than half of the party’s TDs announced that they would not be contesting the 2024 general election.
This included Heather Humphreys, Richard Bruton, Charlie Flanagan, Ciaran Cannon, Simon Coveney, Michael Ring, Damien English, and Josepha Madigan.
This article was updated throughout the year as the resignations came rolling in.
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Gougers. The biggest legit scam competition on the land.
@Andrew Kenny: no one forces you to play.
@Andrew Kenny: It is a game of chance. Nothing like a scam whatsoever.
@Sun Rise: a game of chance IS a scam.
@Sun Rise: no chance in it for Canadian hedgefunds.
@Thesaltyurchin: French now I believe
@Thesaltyurchin:
The Canadians sold you 2 years ago, poor returns.
@P. J.: Ha! I see the French bought it for €350 milly.
@Andrew Kenny: Still no sign of the 80 million that vanished in the first two years of operation many moons ago.
@Chris: Your comment is irrelevant.
@Andrew Kenny: How is it a scam exactly?
People on here saying the lottery isn’t a scam have short memories, not so long ago it rolled over and over for months on end and when politicians started to asked questions the lottery announced it was guaranteed to be won on a certain weekend, and it was it just so happens the winning numbers were suddenly bought by someone.
@M G: misinformation, reason why it was guaranteed to be won is if nobody got The six numbers it would go to 5+ and so on until it was won
@M G: and the winner was the cousin of the lotto cfo. Disgraceful conduct that needs a PUBLIC ENQUIRY
@Buster Lawless: Never heard that. Perhaps it’s just not true.
@Llennoc: if busters lips move he’s guaranteed to be lying, caught him out numerous times yesterday,
@6gRrQtLn: says the big cycling cheater fanboy, hoodwinked everyone for years.
No one is playing but GAMBLING which is no 1 scourge above drink and below street drugs. Getting women to spend half their pension in a post office is sickening .now they are rigging the computer
@Mick Scanlan: So, GAMBLING is the no.2 scourge is what you’re trying to say?
Who exactly is “getting women to spend half their pension in a post office”?
Is it only women effected by this scourge?
FYI – Gambling doesn’t kill people like alcohol and hard drugs sometimes do.
@Conrad Stapletwin: You haven’t a clue pal. Problem gambling is rampant in this country. I’m speaking from experience and it affects every facet of society. You could blow 50k in no time where as you’d take some amount of time to drink that or put it up your nose.
@marklars81: yes they are dragging the country down and stealing the profits for themselves
@Conrad Stapletwin: do you have any idea that running up a gambling debt do to a family or a individual. A great deal of suicides attributed to it .no one is asking anyone to buy the cards but even the supermarkets were asked to pull sweets away from the till. Take them out of post offices
@marklars81: How many deaths directly linked to problem gambling has there been in Ireland in the past 12 months? The number if miniscule vs alcohol and hard drugs.
There was over 1k alcohol related deaths in Ireland in 2023 alone.
I know of people that have OD’d and subsequently died spending less than €100 on the drug that took their life.
If anyone hasn’t a clue it’s you and I’m not your pal, buddy.
@Mick Scanlan: How many lottery related suicides were there in Ireland in the past 12 months?
@Conrad Stapletwin: Gambling destroys lives and families. It’s a scourge on Irish society. Plenty of info and stats to be found out there if you’d bother to look.
@Ian: I know the statistics. Everything I’ve said is 100% correct.
@Conrad Stapletwin: a lot of gamblers lose their mind, drain their savings, might have loan sharks on their back and end up taking their lives. Don’t dismiss gambling as not as “bad” as drink and drugs, it’s all addiction and addiction works the same way for everyone, it’s a disease of the mind and that disease wants you dead.
This was done on purposes. Stealing from the little man
@Buster Lawless: You support the alledged billionaire (Trump) who doesn’t pay taxes yet purport to be on the side of the little man? You simply cannot square that circle. Makes zero sense
@Buster Lawless: I think they would have went fot more a couple of thousand if they were trying to steal
@FoxyBoiiYT: I’m back kamala now. I’ve seen the videos of trump with Diddy so I cannot back him anymore
@Buster Lawless: So the ones of him with Epstein hadn’t convinced you?
Nor him being found liable for raping E.Jean Carroll?
Nor the dozens of credible claims by other women that he assaulted them?
Nor his own words on the Access Hollywood bus?
Who do you think you’re kidding?
@Tricia G28: I didn’t see the one sith epstein as he was whacked.
@FoxyBoiiYT: How has an article about the lottery derailed into a Trump discussion?
@FoxyBoiiYT: Didn’t Mr Trump explain during one of his speeches that he uses the system to avoid paying tax just like all the hundreds of billionaires and millionaires in America. If he committing a crime the IRS would be on to him in a flash. Dry your eyes FoxyBoi.
@Super241946: If he committed a crime? IF? You’re hilarious
I love playing the Lotto and backing horses
@Fredrick Dooley: be careful you could be sucked into the gutter in no time
@Buster Lawless: not at all, I’m not weak
@Fredrick Dooley: nothing to do with strength or weakness. Gambling effects the brain’s dopamine system same as Cocaine, Heroin and Methamphetamine
@robbie scanlon: I’m always happy
@Fredrick Dooley: not when you lose thousands
@Buster Lawless: not when family members die either, but there ya go
@Fredrick Dooley: exactly..just try and stop it now before it’s too late.
What’s to say this type of glitch hasn’t happened before/multiple times before? I often think about the lottery’s weekly profit from the public, the outtake for different charities, the price of in-house admin, advertising, staff wages etc (are there shareholders too?), then offset that to wonder if its relative to the weekly jackpot increase (500,000 apprx?) when not won.
That’s fraud. Someone should go to jail
@robbie scanlon: Private sector, we really do need another RTE article.
The bondholders gambled, bank went down. Bondholders still won.
Gambled on the lottery 2022 or maybe still today. you may have won, and if you did YIPPEE, you lost. Not really fair.
No way of finding out now if I was one of the “unlucky” lucky ones…or is it the other way round?
Who can I sue?
I don’t know if it’s a small comfort, but I don’t think you can be born with an addiction to gambling, unlike drink and drugs,prescribed or not. It is hard to gamble if you are under the age of 18. You can’t enter a betting shop, you can’t enter a casino , you can’t buy lotto tickets over the counter. You don’t find lotto tickets lying around the house on shelves beside the open bottles of alcohol or in the medicine cabinets. Unlike alcohol and drugs, gambling is an invisable addiction and can destroy lives and families.
@MIchael Costello: 10year olds are playing pitch and toss, kids are hooked into gambling long before junior cert, I’m afraid you really don’t know what you’re talking about tbh, no offence but you really don’t have a clue.
@odie Behan: No offence taken at all.
Great so saying could be off work today
Another important news story buried until enough time had lapsed to render it worthy of a half assed report. If this had only happened last week it would have been a much bigger deal. For one people may still have there tickets to check for themselves.
Won it once that’s enough never do it again
Playing the Lotto and hoping to win is like watching snooker on tv. They’re both a load of balls.
have your say