Boxer Katie Taylor wins a gold medal at the Olympics
Every year, Google’s zeitgeist of the world’s most searched for topics gives an insight into what the world is thinking about and in Ireland this year Euro 2012, the death of singer Whitney Houston, the triumph of Olympic gold medallist Katie Taylor, and Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, dominated local and international searches.
Unsurprisingly, Euro 2012 topped the overall trending search terms and was also the top trending news search query, according to Google’s 2012 Zeitgeist.
In terms of ‘how to’ queries, most people seemed to want to know how to draw. My suspicion is this had something to do with the success of the video game Draw Something.
‘Love’ dominated the ‘what is’ category as it seems most people don’t know what love actually is.
Boxer Katie Taylor tops the trending people and Irish Olympians list, as well as featuring strongly in the trending searches list.
The deaths of music songstress Whitney Houston, The Green Mile actor Michael Clarke Duncan and the tragic deaths of Jill Meagher, April Jones and Amanda Todd all trended in 2012.
X-factor success stories Little Mix and One Direction proved their popularity, as both feature in the trending music bands list of 2012. However, the top spot goes to Irish band Kodaline, whose single All I Want featured in the latest series of American drama Grey’s Anatomy.
RTÉ drama Love/Hate saw it make the top 10 list of trending TV shows, along with Chris O’Dowd’s Moone Boy, which is filmed in Boyle, Co Roscommon, and Brendan O’Carroll’s Mrs Brown’s Boys.
The top trending politicians list includes Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, and the Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan, TD, who has hit the headlines in recent times for expensive trips abroad and the introduction of the household charge. Health Minister Dr James Reilly, TD, also ranked highly as he pottered from one political minefield to the next.
The top celebrities list includes Craig Doyle (only Google knows why) and Kerry-born Hollywood A-lister Michael Fassbender. The early retirement of RTÉ newsreader Anne Doyle also trended.
Most searched for topics in Ireland in 2012, according to Google Zeitgeist
Top Trending Searches
- Euro 2012
- Katie Taylor
- Kate Middleton
- Netflix
- April Jones
- Whitney Houston
- Olympics 2012
- Household charge
- AIB Internet
- Jill Meagher
Top Trending People
- Katie Taylor
- Kate Middleton
- April Jones
- Whitney Houston
- Jill Meagher
- Rosanna Davison
- Morgan Freeman
- Michael Clarke Duncan
- Demba Ba
- Amanda Todd
Top Trending TV Shows
- Moone Boy
- Craig Doyle Show
- Homeland
- Love/Hate
- The Voice
- Downton Abbey
- Mrs Browns Boys
- Home and Away
- Fair City
- Ear to the Ground
Top Trending Athletes
- Ryan Lochte
- Bradley Wiggins
- David Rudisha
- Mark McHugh
- Mo Farah
- Michael Phelps
- Jessica Ennis
- Usain Bolt
- Simon Zebo
- Oscar Pistorius
Top Trending Sports Teams
- Ryder Cup team
- Ulster rugby
- Galway hurling
- Mayo football
- Kilkenny hurling
- Donegal football
- Chelsea FC
- Leinster rugby
- Connacht rugby
- Manchester United
Most Searched in 2012 Irish Olympians
- Katie Taylor
- John Joe Nevin
- Paddy Barnes
- Annalise Murphy
- Jason Smyth
- Michael Conlan
- Kieran Behan
- Melanie Nocher
- Camilla Speirs
- Olive Loughnane
Top Trending How to….
- Draw
- Kiss
- Crochet
- Make
- Knit
- Study
- Hack
- Meditate
- Flirt
- Announce
Top Trending What is….?
- Love
- iCloud
- Scientology
- Autism
- Soap
- Yolo
- Tracking
- PayPal
- Tumblr
Top Trending Travel Destinations
- Benidorm
- Paris
- Berlin
- Nice
- London
- Algarve
- Barcelona
- Amsterdam
- Malaga
- Brussels
Most Searched Politicians in 2012
- Enda Kenny
- Phil Hogan
- James Reilly
- Micheál Martin
- Leo Varadkar
- Joan Burton
- Alan Shatter
- Ruairi Quinn
- Sean Sherlock
- Eamonn Gilmore
Top Trending News Searches
- Euro 2012
- Katie Taylor
- Whitney Houston
- Household charge
- April Jones
- Jill Meagher
- Hurricane Sandy
- Rosanna Davison
- Ryder Cup 2012
- Muamba
Top Trending Celebrities
- Craig Doyle
- Michael Fassbender
- Liam Neeson
- Ciaran Hinds
- Daniel Day Lewis
- Pierce Brosnan
- Cillian Murphy
- Colm Meaney
- Anne Doyle
- Colin Farrell
Top Trending Music Bands
- Kodaline
- Little Mix
- One Direction
- The Blizzards
- Delorentos
- The Killers
- Muse
- Coldplay
- Damien Dempsey
- The Wanted
Top Trending Irish Models
- Rosanna Davison
- Aoife Cogan
- Rozanna Purcell
- Holly Carpenter
- Vivienne Connolly
- Georgia Salpa
- Nadia Forde
- Ruth Griffin
- Faye Dinsmore
- Hannah May Devane
