Celebrating 20 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
Watermark
by
Enya
The RT Choice Music Prize Classic Irish Album, in association with IMRO & IRMA, has just been announced on RT Gold by Paul Moriarity. The winning album is: Watermark by Enya.
I am delighted to win the RT Choice Music Classic Album Prize. Watermark has a special place in my heart it was my second album and really launched my career internationally. It is wonderful that people are still discovering it today and it's an honour to be chosen for this prize recognising Irish music - Enya, 2025
The panel chose Watermark by Enya as their Classic Irish Album for the RT Choice Music Prize and explain further - Following a lengthy deliberation and some very stiff competition, we deemed Watermark the most worthy recipient for this year's Classic Irish Album award. Not only is Enya's second record a remarkable piece of work for its time, but it has endured across the 37 years since its release and continues to inspire and influence generations of musicians to this day. Alongside her producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan, Enya essentially pioneered a new genre of music with Watermark, blending her traditional Irish background with elements of ambient, world, choral and pop music and her innovative layered vocal technique that can be heard on songs like Storms in Africa, Cursum Perficio and of course, the iconic Orinoco Flow. It was commercially successful on a global scale, yet the panel agreed that Enya is often underestimated or perhaps misunderstood by many. It felt like an apt opportunity to acknowledge her visionary work as both a vocalist and a musician and Watermark, in all its strange, evocative beauty, comprehensively fulfils the criteria for a classic album'.
The judges for the prize are Lauren Murphy, Arts and Culture Journalist; John Connolly, Author and presenter of From ABC to XTC on RTE Gold; Louise Duffy, Music Presenter, RTE Radio 1 and Harry Martin, Director Domino Records with Paul Russell (Radio producer, formerly RT 2FM) as the chairperson. The album will be played in full tonight on RT Gold after 6pm.
Watermark was released in 1988 on Warner Music UK (Geffen worldwide). Signed by Rob Dickins, who was head of the label at the time, 26-year-old Enya was given full creative control and artistic freedom. The writing and recording of the album continued her long-term collaboration with manager, arranger and producer Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan. Initially recorded in Dublin it was re-recorded digitally in Orinoco Studios in London. Orinoco Flow , the album's global hit, was the final song written for the album. Selling an estimated 10 million albums, Watermark achieved multi-Platinum-selling status in many countries and is credited with propelling Enya to global fame and acclaim.
A rich mood piece of broad proportions and a glorious aural mosaic Rolling Stone
Album playlist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMEYX7LPtqE
The inaugural winning Classic Irish Album was I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got by the late great Sin ad O' Connor, followed last year by U2's Achtung Baby.
-
Live Event, Vicar St Thursday 6th March (Sold-Out)
The winning Irish Album of the Year 2024 will be announced at the RT Choice Music Prize live event in Vicar St Thursday 6th March, and, will be broadcast on RT 2FM in a special four-hour extended show with Beta Da Silva from 7-11pm. Eight of the ten nominated artists will perform on the night. A special TV show will be broadcast on 13th March at 10.35pm on RT 2.
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 2024 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 6th March, with four music industry panels running from 12.00-16.30. Details to follow next week.
The 20th 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 | lizageddes@gmail.com
RT : Neil O'Gorman | neil.ogorman@rte.ie
Notes to Editor:
Enya is Ireland's best-selling solo Irish Artist with over 80 million physical album sales.
Watermark was released on 19 September 1988.
Enya recorded Watermark with her long-time collaborators: manager, producer and arranger Nicky Ryan and lyricist Roma Ryan.
Watermark was an unexpected commercial success, propelling Enya to worldwide fame.
Worldwide chart positions: Number 5 on the UK Albums Chart | Number 25 on the Billboard 200 in the United States,
Watermark was a quadruple Platinum-selling album in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Debut single, Orinoco Flow, was a simultaneous No
More from RTE
09/10/2026
Witness world firsts, new arrivals and the work that goes on behind the scenes a...
07/10/2026
RT has been informed that, as stated in Budget 2027, the Government has made the decision to cut the agreed public funding of RT by 20 million for 2027.
In ...
07/10/2026
Undercover filming shows add-on treatments with potential safety concerns on sal...
07/10/2026
Join Emma Doran, Justine Stafford, Killian Sundermann, Se n Burke and Michael Fry on RT 2 and RT Player tomorrow at 10.30pm
A host of guest stars include Siob...
06/10/2026
Andrew Trimble delves into the author's Belfast upbringing
Thursday, 8 Octo...
05/10/2026
RT will provide comprehensive coverage and analysis of Budget 2027 across online, radio and television on Tuesday 6 October, with extensive reporting and analy...
02/10/2026
Featuring performances recorded in Cork, Kilkenny, Wesmeath and Dublin culminati...
02/10/2026
How the fertility sector in Ireland remains unregulated
Undercover filming reveals how without proper regulation the promotion of controversial fertility treat...
02/10/2026
Transforming Homes, Transforming Lives
Presenter Baz Ashmawy and his team take on four life-changing builds across Kildare, Limerick, Wicklow and Offaly in the...
01/10/2026
Season 4 of the multi-award-winning hit entertainment series The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In is back, serving up another round of unpredictable laughs, unforg...
01/10/2026
New season begins Sunday, 4 October at 6pm on RT lyric fm and RT Listen
RT lyric fm's arts and culture documentary series The Lyric Feature returns on S...
01/10/2026
RT is proud to continue its commitment to supporting and celebrating the arts across Ireland this October, highlighting a vibrant programme of theatre, music, ...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
29/09/2026
RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...
28/09/2026
Crimecall, presented by Carla O'Brien, returns tonight for a brand new series at 9.35pm on RT One and RT Player.
In tonight's episode, alongside appe...
28/09/2026
CELEBRATING 40 YEARS AT THE HEART OF NEW IRISH WRITING
LIVE FROM POETRY IRELAND, DUBLIN AND ON RT RADIO 1 FROM 7PM
DETAILS: www.rte.ie/writing | FOLLOW: #r...
25/09/2026
Want to be part of this year's Late Late Toy Show?
Final call for applications in search for this year's stars
The most wonderful night of the year is...
24/09/2026
The home interiors retailer signs up for third year as sponsor
RT Commercial today announced that Harry Corry has signed up to a third year as sponsor of Live...
24/09/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards Tickets on Sale
Dolores Keane to be inducted into the...
23/09/2026
RT One and RT Player, Friday 25 September
Ceol le Ch ile, a new series that follows Irish artists as they collaborate with musicians from diverse background...
23/09/2026
Available now on RT Listen
New information has come to light in the case of mi...
22/09/2026
RT , Creative Ireland and Shared Island Initiative ask young artists
to respon...
21/09/2026
Ireland's most successful and longest-running afternoon show, the TODAY Show...
21/09/2026
RT celebrates Irish Sign Language Awareness Week 2026
Special programmes across RT television, radio and online, plus special initiatives
#ISL #IDSL #IWDP26...
17/09/2026
Donncha's Away Games starts this Sunday on RT One and RT Player
Irish rugby legend Donncha O'Callaghan pairs up with a host of celebrities to take on...
17/09/2026
New series of Aistear an Amhr in shares extraordinary stories behind Ireland'...
17/09/2026
The Late Late Show is back!
Liam Neeson, Siobh n McSweeney, Caitr ona Balfe a...
17/09/2026
RT Statement:
RT is today confirming that its position regarding participation in the Eurovision Song Contest remains unchanged. RT will not participate in...
16/09/2026
Garda whistleblowers come forward to
RT Investigates from inside the
Garda Pr...
14/09/2026
RT in association with the BBC today released first look image from the second series of The Walsh Sisters, inspired by the novels of international best-sellin...
11/09/2026
RT has today announced Benetti Menswear as the sponsor of its 2026 Amgen Irish Open coverage for a sixth consecutive year, further strengthening the heritage c...
10/09/2026
RT to Broadcast Amgen Irish Open free-to-air
New multi-year agreement will see RT continue to bring the Amgen Irish Open to Irish audiences
Ryder Cup hig...
10/09/2026
More than 30 women report allegations of sexual harassment, misogyny and bullying within National Ambulance Service
Tonight on RT Prime Time, 9:35pm, RT One ...
10/09/2026
Series 3 of Nero's Class begins Friday 11 September on RT Listen
The third...
09/09/2026
RT brings three packed days of live radio, entertainment, news, weather and fun
Join RT Radio 1: Morning Ireland, Oliver Callan, Today with David McCullagh,...
07/09/2026
552,000 streams on RT Player
The historic fight, which saw Katie Taylor become...
04/09/2026
RT ANNOUNCE NEW DRAMA THE MURDER OF MR. MOONLIGHT
BASED ON THE DISAPPEARANCE...
03/09/2026
First Class Takes is a new six-part series for RT KIDS that captures funny, hon...
02/09/2026
RT has today announced a major media partnership with Lidl around Katie Taylor's historic Croke Park clash with Flora Pili on Saturday, September 5th.
The...
01/09/2026
Join Donal Skehan in discovering the best of everyday Italian cooking in brand new series, airing Wednesday 2 September
In this brand-new series, Donal's I...
01/09/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to spotlight a diverse range of arts, cultu...
27/08/2026
Commissioned for RT KIDS as part of the EBU Kids' Drama Exchange The Note will premiere Sunday August 30, 5:10pm
RT One and RT Player
The Note tells a...
26/08/2026
As RT marks 100 years of public service broadcasting in Ireland, today we announce a season of fresh, original content, while preparing to move into a second c...
25/08/2026
The new series begins Tuesday 1 September at 7pm on RT One and RT Player
The search for Ireland's hidden housing gems is back as Cheap Irish Homes return...
24/08/2026
We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly airs
Wednesday 26 August on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
RT is to air the compelling documenta...
21/08/2026
Beat The Lotto dives into the plot behind the 1980s National Lottery scandal
24 August 2026 at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Beat The Lotto is the story o...
21/08/2026
The countdown to the most wonderful night of the year has officially begun!
Host Patrick Kielty is gearing up for another unforgettable Late Late Toy Show nig...
21/08/2026
Meet puppet duo Bellie and Whizz, who are about to explore all the big feelings ...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
Celebrating 20 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
