# Meteor Music Awards

A Meteor Ireland Music Award was an accolade bestowed upon professionals in the music industry in Ireland and further afield. They had been bestowed each year since 2001, replacing the IRMA Ireland Music Awards held in the 1990s. Promoted by MCD Productions, the ceremony at which these accolades were bestowed upon worthy recipients was referred to colloquially as The Meteors, though occasionally also by its full title.
Event organisers confirmed in January 2011 that there would be no awards ceremony that year, with Meteor's cancellation of its sponsorship of the event widely blamed for this abrupt occurrence.

## History

The Meteor Ireland Music Awards were the equivalent to the Canadian Juno Awards, the American Grammy Awards, the Echo Awards in Germany, and the United Kingdom's BRIT Awards. The awards take their name from their sponsors, Meteor.
Each year there was a mix of live performances and award presentations at a ceremony conducted in the Point Theatre, Dublin (2001–2007) and the Royal Dublin Society's Simmonscourt, Dublin (2008–2010). Irish artists to have showcased their music included Snow Patrol, Sinéad O'Connor, U2, Bell X1, Aslan, Westlife, the Blizzards, the Frames, the Coronas, Director, Hothouse Flowers, Cathy Davey, the Devlins, the Thrills, Paddy Casey, and the Immediate, whilst previous live performances by international artists have included the Pussycat Dolls, Amy Winehouse, Sugababes, Counting Crows, the Darkness, Kaiser Chiefs, Lionel Richie, and Tom Jones.
Presenters included both Irish and international figures from music, sport, film, television, and beauty: Joe Elliott, Denis Hickie, Colin Farrell, Alex Zane, and Rosanna Davison. The award ceremony was hosted by a number of different personalities throughout its history: Ed Byrne, Patrick Kielty, Amanda Byram, Podge and Rodge alongside Deirdre O'Kane, and Dara Ó Briain.
Originally held in the Point Theatre in Dublin, in 2008 the award ceremony moved to the RDS Simmonscourt of the Royal Dublin Society until its cancellation in 2011.

## Recipients by year

A list of winners is to be found on the Meteor website.

### Irish awards

| Year | Male | Female | Band | Album | Live Performance | Pop Act | New Act | Lifetime Achievement | Industry |
| 2001 | Ronan Keating | Sharon Shannon | U2 | All That You Can't Leave Behind | U2 | Westlife | JJ72 | Christy Moore | Louis Walsh |
| 2002 | David Kitt | Samantha Mumba | U2 | All That You Can't Leave Behind | — | Westlife | The Revs | Paul McGuinness | — |
| 2003 | Mundy | Carly Hennessy | U2 | Skylarkin' | — | Westlife | The Thrills | Bob Geldof | Phil Coulter |
| 2004 | Paddy Casey | Cara Dillon | The Frames | So Much for the City | — | Westlife | Future Kings of Spain | The Dubliners | Dave Fanning |
| 2005 | Paddy Casey | Juliet Turner | Snow Patrol | Final Straw | — | Westlife | The Chalets | Aslan | John Hughes |
| 2006 | Damien Dempsey | Gemma Hayes | U2 | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb | U2 | Westlife | Humanzi | The Pogues | Bill Whelan |
| 2007 | Damien Dempsey | Luan Parle | Snow Patrol | Eyes Open | Snow Patrol | Westlife | Director | Clannad | Larry Gogan |
| 2008 | Duke Special | Cathy Davey | Aslan | Addicted to Company | The Blizzards | Westlife | — | The Saw Doctors | Jim Aiken |
| 2009 | Mick Flannery | Imelda May | The Script | The Script | The Blizzards | Westlife | — | Sharon Shannon | Niall Stokes |
| 2010 | Christy Moore | Wallis Bird | Snow Patrol | Tony Was An Ex-Con | The Script | Westlife | Amasis | Brian Kennedy | Henry Mountcharles |

### International awards

| Year | Male | Female | Band | Album | Live Performance |
| 2001 | David Gray | Whitney Houston | — | White Ladder | — |
| 2002 | Robbie Williams | Dido | Stereophonics | Is This It | Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| 2003 | Eminem | Avril Lavigne | Coldplay | By the Way | Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| 2004 | Justin Timberlake | Beyoncé | The Darkness | Elephant | Red Hot Chili Peppers |
| 2005 | Morrissey | PJ Harvey | Franz Ferdinand | Franz Ferdinand | The Killers |
| 2006 | Kanye West | Gwen Stefani | Kaiser Chiefs | Employment | — |
| 2007 | Justin Timberlake | Lily Allen | Scissor Sisters | Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | — |
| 2008 | Bruce Springsteen | Amy Winehouse | Arcade Fire | Neon Bible | Muse |
| 2009 | James Morrison | Duffy | Elbow | Only by the Night | Leonard Cohen |
| 2010 | Michael Bublé | Lady Gaga | Florence and the Machine | Sunny Side Up | Leonard Cohen |

## Award ceremonies by year

| Ceremony | Date | Venue | Broadcast date | Host |
| 2001 | 18 March | Point Theatre, Dublin | 20 March | Ed Byrne |
| 2002 | 4 March | Point Theatre, Dublin | 6 March | Patrick Kielty |
| 2003 | 3 March | Point Theatre, Dublin | 5 March | Dara Ó Briain |
| 2004 | 1 March | Point Theatre, Dublin | 3 March, 21:00 | Dara Ó Briain |
| 2005 | 24 February | Point Theatre, Dublin | 27 February | Ed Byrne |
| 2006 | 2 February | Point Theatre, Dublin | 5 February, 21:00 | Patrick Kielty |
| 2007 | 1 February | Point Theatre, Dublin | 4 February, 21:00 | Deirdre O'Kane and Podge and Rodge |
| 2008 | 15 February | RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin | 16 February, 21:00 | Dara Ó Briain |
| 2009 | 17 March | RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin | 18 March, 21:00 | Amanda Byram |
| 2010 | 19 February | RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin | 21 February, 21.00 | Amanda Byram |