U2 is heard with �Where The Streets Have No Name,� the Top 20 hit from 1987�s The Joshua Tree, the band�s first #1 album.  Bono is also part of Sightings Of Bono, a short film shot in Dublin in 2000 about a girl who sees the U2 lead singer everywhere until she eventually meets him in the shop where she works.  The short was seen in a few theaters and on the Internet but has never been released elsewhere until now.  Another Bono appearance is as guest vocalist on Clannad�s �In A Lifetime� from the trad-pop family band�s 1986 Macalla album.  And another recent Irish family band, The Corrs, chimes in with �Breathless,� their Top 40 hit from 2000�s In Blue.

The Cranberries, the biggest-selling Irish rock artists outside of U2, are represented by �Linger,� their gold Top 10 hit from their 1993 breakthrough Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can�t We?  Sinéad O�Connor�s Prince-penned �Nothing Compares 2 U� was a stunning #1 from her 1990 #1 album I Do Not Want What I Haven�t Got.

The album also extends back in time, beginning with Van Morrison�s 1967 Top 10 classic �Brown-Eyed Girl.�  In 1973, legendary blues-rock guitarist-singer-songwriter Rory Gallagher released �Tattoo�d Lady.�  That same year, the Phil Lynott-led Thin Lizzy reached the U.K. Top 10 with a rock version of the traditional Irish pub ballad �Whiskey In The Jar.�

Then came punk.  The Undertones first issued �Teenage Kicks� in 1978 before putting it on the band�s 1979 self-titled debut album and opening for the Clash on their U.S. tour.  Also that year, Stiff Little Fingers, known as �The Irish Clash,� was heard with �Alternative Ulster.�  Another track that year, �I Don�t Like Mondays,� was the second straight U.K. #1 for the Boomtown Rats.  Yet the most admired Irish punk band is The Pogues, led by Shane MacGowan.  Their biggest hit (#2 U.K.) was 1988�s �Fairy Tale Of New York,� which featured Kirsty MacColl.  1988 also saw the Hothouse Flowers� �Don�t Go,� a #2 U.K. hit.

So raise a pint and turn up the stereo to Greatest Irish Bands.

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