Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Classic Irish Album
And the winning album is
The T in by Horslips
The RT Choice Music Prize Classic Irish Album, in association with IMRO & IRMA, has just been announced on RT Gold by Will Leahy. The winning album is: The T in by Horslips. A concept album centred on Irish mythology, The T in was the band's second full-length offering and was released on their own label in Ireland in 1973 as well as RCA in the UK and Atco in the US.
We can't believe it, really. We knew at the time that The T in was a different kind of album. And we could see that Dearg Doom had a great riff going on. We just didn't think that it would sustain in the way it has. Both Italia 90 and Saipan' have served to keep the album and the single surfacing but even without that, there seems to be an inbuilt determination to survive in both. 50 years is a good innings! - Horslips, 2026
The panel chose The T in by Horslips as their Classic Irish Album for the RT Choice Music Prize and explain further - Horslips lasted 10 years - 1970 to 1980. Their impact was immense. They literally changed the course of music in Ireland in the seventies, not just because they fused traditional Irish music with rock and in so doing inspired many local and international acts or that they released 10 albums in that 10-year period leaving a legacy much bigger than that of the defining band of the so-called Celtic Rock genre.
No maybe the main reason is that they brought their unique brand of music to every barn, every dancehall, every hotel, every disco, every church-hall again and again and again.
They made an instant impact with their debut release but the record that stands out is the follow-up, an ambitious concept album telling the story of the T in B C ailnge (the cattle raid of Cooley), the legend of early Irish literature dealing with the war between Connacht and Ulster over a prize bull. Fusing traditional music as an influence to develop a new idiom of rock'n'roll that had real relevance to the band's own experience, one result was that by paying respectful homage to the music of our past and rocking it up to a new, younger, audience, a whole new world of music was opened up.
And, of course, 20 years later the riff from the album's most famous track brought a whole new audience on board, the soundtrack to Ireland's first ever world cup finals campaign .
The judges for this year's prize are Dave Fanning (Radio and TV Broadcaster), Caroline Henry (Artist Management), Stevo Berube (Artist Management & Music Publicist), with Paul Russell (Radio producer, formerly RT 2FM) as the chairperson.
The album will be played in full tonight on RT Gold after 6pm.
Dearg Doom was arguably the most popular track on the album and was included in Tom Dunne's 30 Best Irish Hits compilation, released in 2003. Along with Faster Than The Hound , it was also performed by the band on the BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test. The track's main guitar riff was incorporated into Put Em Under Pressure , the anthem of Ireland's Italia 90 campaign, reintroducing the song to a younger audience.
Horslips: Jim Lockhart, Eamon Carr, Barry Devlin, Charles O' Connor, Johnny Fean
A few of the band members will attend on the 5th to collect their award.
The influence of The T in is massive, and the pleasure it gives is endless. Where would we be without Dearg Doom? We'd be in 1932. - John Kelly
Music profile https://open.spotify.com/artist/2mcMCQLrNDEW6O1pAEK3dr?si=6SiO5ulmT9irDYmCgYRRtw
Previous winning Classic Irish Albums
2023 I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got Sin ad O' Connor (1990)
2024 Achtung Baby - U2 (1991)
2025 Watermark - Enya (1988)
-
Live Event, Vicar St Thursday 5th March (Sold-Out)
The winning Irish Album of the Year 2025 will be announced at the RT Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar St Thursday 5th March, and, will be broadcast on RT 2FM in a special four-hour extended show with Beta Da Silva from 7-11pm.
The Classic Irish Album prize will be presented along with Irish Artist of the Year and Irish Breakthrough Artist that night.
The Irish Song of the Year 2025 will be announced by Tracy Clifford on her 2FM show on the day of the live event and presented to the winner in Vicar St that night. Tracy will also host the live event.
RT Choice Music Prize Conversations will take place on the day, Thursday 5th March, with four music industry panels running from 12.00-16.30 at BIMM, Francis St. Details to follow later this week.
The 21st annual RT Choice Music Prize will once again celebrate the best in Irish recorded music. The Prize has become one of the music-industry highlights of the year since its inception in 2005. The Irish Album of the Year award is chosen from a shortlist of ten albums by a panel of eleven Irish music media professionals and industry experts.
The list of judges is available via http://www.choicemusicprize.ie
The winning Album of the Year act will receive 10,000, a prize fund which has been provided by The Irish Music Rights Organization (IMRO) and The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). All shortlisted acts will receive a specially commissioned award.
RAAP, Culture Ireland, FMC, Minding Creative Minds, Cultural & Creative Industries Skillnet and Coimisi n na Me n are also official project partners of the RT Choice Music Prize.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Choice Music Prize: Liza Geddes, Recode Publicity I lizageddes@gmail.com
RT : Neil O'Gorman | neil.ogorman@rte.ie
Notes to Editor:
The RT Choice Music Prize is organised by co-founder David Reid. Editor of RT Brainstorm & co-founder of the prize, Jim Carroll, is the chairman of the judging panel for Iris
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
15/04/2026
From immersive storytelling to laugh-out-loud comedies, podcasts are booming in ...
15/04/2026
Books have always moved with us, whether tucked in our bags or humming in our he...
15/04/2026
For many artists, independent venues are where music careers begin and fan communities take shape. Independent venue operators work hard every day to keep local...
15/04/2026
From gripping thrillers to poignant memoirs, the 21st century has had no shortage of unforgettable books. To celebrate the standout storytelling of our modern e...
15/04/2026
Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in
Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...
15/04/2026
Includes eight free UAD plug-ins
Universal Audio's latest bundle brings together a selection of their renowned plug-ins and virtual instruments, and is ...
15/04/2026
Maximum uptime for broadcasters: Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S BroadcastShield at...
15/04/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, announces the market launch of the ACCE...
15/04/2026
Wednesday 15 April 2026
Introducing Smart Home from Sky, a simple way to stay c...
15/04/2026
Wednesday 15 April 2026
The Burbs confirmed to return to Sky and NOW for a second season
Mystery-comedy series, The Burbs, will continue its exclusive resid...
15/04/2026
With new broadcast standards evolving all over the world and OTT streaming striving for the pole position in media consumption, both next-gen video and audio co...
15/04/2026
Harmonic's XOS Media Processor Delivers Exceptional Video Quality to More th...
15/04/2026
Five Decades of Box Office Intelligence: Comscore Celebrates 50 Years of Movie M...
15/04/2026
Two Cities Television and Keeper Pictures to produce six-part series in association with Screen Ireland for RT and ITV Studios
RT has commissioned Two Citie...
15/04/2026
RT 100
RT unveils The Signal' a specially commissioned 60-second film
...
14/04/2026
ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...
14/04/2026
Captures a trio of renowned polysynths
The latest software to join AIR Music Tech's extensive catalogue captures the sound of three sought-after polysyn...
14/04/2026
Free offering includes 10 powerful plug-ins
United Plugins have announced the launch of a new bundle that brings together 10 of their pro-audio plug-ins, an...
14/04/2026
Julian Coryell joins virtual session player line-up
Announced at NAMM 2026, Celemony's Tonalic kits DAW users out with real performances by world-class ...
14/04/2026
X-Rite Pantone Color Academy Grand Opening in Shanghai
On March 27, 2026, X-Rite Pantone, the global authority in color standards and color science, held the...
14/04/2026
14 Apr 2026
VEON and JazzWorld Receive Competition Commission of Pakistan Appro...
14/04/2026
Tuesday 14 April 2026
Nicola Coughlan and Aimee Lou Wood to host next two episo...
14/04/2026
Lead writer and executive producer Jack Lothian joins alongside lead director Je...
14/04/2026
Wuppertal April 14, 2026
Thomas Riedel Acquires Premium Manufacturer ARRIStrategic Alignment With the Riedel Group for Innovation and Growth
Thomas Riedel, f...
14/04/2026
New Service Simplifies Integration of AI Applications with Exceptional Reliabili...
14/04/2026
Luxembourg, April 14, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, today annou...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2026 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-ti...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2026 is a Multi-Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and U...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...
13/04/2026
ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2026 Boilerplate
More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...
13/04/2026
Intuitive EQ plug-in gets an upgrade
Following its official launch back in February 2026, Musik Hack's intuitive EQ plug-in has been treated to its firs...
13/04/2026
Flagship soft synth collection expanded
The latest version of UVI's flagship vintage-inspired soft synth collection has just arrived, expanding the suit...
13/04/2026
Free version of innovative string library arrives
Released in October 2025, Lux Orchestral Strings was said to be Sonuscore's most ambitious library to ...
13/04/2026
The Girls' Research Camp is part of the Technology - Future in Bavaria edu...
13/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz transforms submarine communications for real time underwater dom...
13/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz enables Pulsar signal simulation to support next-generation navi...
13/04/2026
The search for Ireland's newest country music star is live on Friday 17 Apri...
13/04/2026
Monday 13 April 2026
Global environmental action NGO WRAP brings recycling to l...
13/04/2026
J nger Audio has joined the EBU ADM Implementers Group (ADM-IG) as a founding me...
13/04/2026
FOX Latin America Announces The Launch Of The FOX Channel In Central America And...
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
