Hot Press is a monthly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland. Founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes and Mairin Sheehy, the magazine has been edited by Stokes since its inception. Launched amid the punk era as an alternative to what its founders regarded as conservative mainstream coverage of rock music, Hot Press quickly established itself as more than a music title, combining reviews and artist interviews with commentary on Irish politics, social affairs and current events. Its first issue, featuring Rory Gallagher, appeared ahead of Ireland's first open-air rock festival at Macroom in June 1977, and the magazine has covered Irish and international musicians, from U2 and Thin Lizzy to The Cranberries and Sinéad O'Connor, ever since.
Hot Press has taken a broadly anti-establishment and left-of-centre editorial stance, with equality issues, including gay rights and reproductive rights, central to its coverage from an early stage. The magazine has published high-profile political interviews, including a 1990 interview with presidential candidate Mary Robinson that provoked national controversy, and an interview with Taoiseach Charles Haughey in 1984. It has also weathered its share of disputes, from a 2009 copyright row over the traditional group De Dannan's name to criticism of a 2009 interview with comedian Tommy Tiernan over remarks later perceived as antisemitic. Past and present contributors have included President Michael D. Higgins, journalist Bill Graham and the Father Ted writers Graham Linehan and Arthur Mathews, among others.
Beyond the magazine itself, Hot Press has produced an annual Yearbook, operated the short-lived Hot Press Music Hall of Fame in Dublin from 1999 to 2001, and organised the Stag/Hot Press Awards recognising Irish musical talent. The publication has also released several books drawn from its archive, including collections on Phil Lynott and Dolores O'Riordan. In 2026, Hot Press marked fifty years in print with a concert at Dublin's 3Arena and a new anthology of its interviews, History In The Making.
History
Founding Before establishing Hot Press, Niall Stokes had worked as a freelance journalist for Scene magazine, steering it towards rock music coverage, before concluding there was scope for a more frequent publication dedicated to rock music and the wider creative scene in Ireland. He founded Hot Press with a number of journalists he had worked with at Scene, including Bill Graham and Liam Mackey.
The early team worked from a flat on Earlsfort Terrace before securing an office on Upper Mount Street, Dublin, where a shortage of available telephone lines nearly derailed the launch, with the Department of Posts and Telegraphs initially informing them that no lines would be available for eighteen months. The problem was resolved after Stokes noted that the Dublin offices of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, located on the same street ahead of the 1977 Irish general election, had been granted numerous temporary lines; the Department subsequently allocated Hot Press three lines of its own.
The first issue of Hot Press, cover-dated 9 June 1977, featured Irish blues rock musician Rory Gallagher ahead of his headlining performance at Ireland's first open air rock festival, the Macroom Mountain Dew Festival. The cover, assembled as a photographic collage in the style of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, depicted the Fine Gael-Labour coalition cabinet of the day alongside musicians including Bob Geldof, Phil Lynott, Patti Smith and Bob Marley, and also included a small photograph of two men kissing, a notable inclusion at a time when homosexual acts remained illegal in Ireland. As a matter of editorial policy, the magazine used its own photography for reviews and features rather than relying on agency images.
Hot Press positioned itself as an anti-establishment, left-of-centre publication aimed at young, urban readers with an interest in rock music, in contrast to what its founders regarded as arid and conservative coverage of popular music in the mainstream Irish press of the time. The magazine's coverage of U2 began in its earliest years; Horslips bassist Barry Devlin later credited a favourable review by Bill Graham, whom he called "the guy who got U2", with transforming the fortunes of the acts the magazine championed.
1980s Through the 1980s, Hot Press broadened its scope beyond music to cover politics, current affairs and social issues, retaining what one contemporary report described as a "sort of thoughtful aggression" in its journalism. The magazine also expanded into features on fashion and other lifestyle subjects during this period, a change staff at the time said had been well received.
From the early 1980s, Hot Press was associated with the Stag/Hot Press Awards, an annual ceremony recognising the achievements of Irish musicians on the international stage; early winners included U2, Thin Lizzy, Clannad, Auto Da Fé, The Undertones, Paul Brady, The Blades and Rory Gallagher. Winners were chosen by a panel of critics drawn from national newspapers, RTÉ Television, RTÉ Radio 2, the RTÉ Guide, Downtown Radio and Hot Press itself. At the fourth annual ceremony, held at the National Stadium in Dublin in September 1984 and hosted by Vincent Hanley, Moving Hearts, Christy Moore and Chris de Burgh each received awards for the first time, while Les Enfants and In Tua Nua shared the Best New Act award.
In 1984, Hot Press writer John Waters interviewed then-Taoiseach Charles Haughey, who spoke candidly about his frustrations with critics of his leadership.
1990s In September 1990, Hot Press published a widely reported interview with presidential candidate Mary Robinson, conducted by journalist Liam Fay, in which Robinson said she would be willing to officiate at the opening of a contraceptive stall in a Virgin Megastore and at the opening of a gay rights centre. Published at a time when the sale of condoms was legally restricted and homosexuality remained a criminal offence in Ireland, the interview was denounced by the Irish Press as "the longest suicide note in history", though the controversy had little lasting effect on Robinson's campaign, and she went on to become the first woman elected President of Ireland. Robinson later attributed some of the controversy to a habit of answering "yes" to indicate she had understood a question before elaborating her answer, a defence that became known as the "yes-mechanism". In 2024, to mark Robinson's 80th birthday, Hot Press republished the interview in full alongside a reflection by Fay on its impact.
In 1999, Niall Stokes oversaw the opening of the Hot Press Music Hall of Fame, an interactive museum on Middle Abbey Street, Dublin, celebrating Irish music and musicians, which was opened by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Caroline Corr of The Corrs. The Hall of Fame closed in October 2001.
2000s In 2000, Sinéad O'Connor first talked to Hot Press about being bisexual.
In June 2002, writing in The Irish Times to mark the magazine's 25th anniversary, John Waters, a former Hot Press contributor, argued that the magazine had failed to move with the times, criticising what he described as a dated preoccupation with sex, political correctness and left-wing politics. Waters went on to become a widely discredited commentator in Ireland, promoting far-right and conspiracy theories in his subsequent career.
Hot Press writer Stuart Clark was interviewing Oasis band member and songwriter Noel Gallagher when Gallagher found out that his brother Liam would not take the stage for that evening's performance, and the band came close to splitting up.
Hot Press was at the centre of a legal dispute over the copyright of the term De Dannan in 2009 after it featured an advertisement using the term to promote a new tour by the traditional group.
2009 Tommy Tiernan antisemitism controversy In September 2009, during a pre-performance Q&A at Electric Picnic in County Laois hosted by Olaf Tyaransen for Hot Press, Tommy Tiernan responded to a question about previous accusations of antisemitism by making remarks about the Holocaust, Jews, and the death of Christ, including the statement: "These Jews, these fucking Jew cunts... Fucking six million? I would have got 10 or 12 million out of that."'TIERNAN MUST SAY SORRY FOR HURTFUL JEWISH SLUR' – The Mirror, 5 October 2009 He later apologised for any offence caused, saying the remarks had been taken out of context and were intended to illustrate his view that comedians should be "irresponsible and reckless" without isolated excerpts being treated as literal beliefs.'Words were not meant to wound', chortle.co.uk, retrieved 22 September 2009 The comments drew widespread condemnation from figures including Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Ruairi Quinn, filmmaker Louis Lentin, and Holocaust Education Trust Ireland, who described them as offensive, insensitive, racist, or appalling. However, Niall Stokes and Tyaransen defended Tiernan, arguing that he was satirising antisemitism and that his remarks had been removed from their original context.
2010s In 2017, Hot Press marked its 40th anniversary with an exhibition of its covers, HP40, at the National Library of Ireland's National Photographic Archive in Temple Bar, featuring signed, restored prints spanning acts from Blur and Christy Moore to Radiohead and Enya, along with a wall displaying all forty of U2's Hot Press covers. Marking the anniversary, Stokes said equality issues, including gay rights, had been central to the magazine's editorial focus "right from the outset". Michael D. Higgins, who wrote for Hot Press for ten years before his election as President of Ireland, described the magazine as representing "counter culture at its best" and said it remained an important voice in Irish life.
Laura Lee/Olaf Tyaransen controversy In late 2017, Laura Lee, a sex worker and sex workers' rights campaigner, made a complaint to the Garda Síochána that Olaf Tyaransen had sexually assaulted her in 2014 when they met for a Hot Press interview. In February 2018, Lee died by suicide; two weeks later, her allegation was reported on Medium.com by Brooke Magnanti and widely repeated online. Tyaransen said he had consensual sex with Lee on the night he interviewed her for Hot Press, and sued Magnanti, Twitter, and Broadsheet.ie for defamation."Hot Press writer launches legal proceedings against Broadsheet.ie and Twitter". TheJournal.ie, 17 February 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2025 Several of those who had repeated the allegations deleted them and issued apologies.
Tyaransen claims the allegations ruined his career. He stopped writing for Hot Press by mutual agreement although, according to him, the magazine continued to pay him for two years. He wrote an account presenting the events as an unjust cancellation by dogpiling misuse of the #MeToo movement. His book was due to be published in autumn 2025 as Me & #MeToo: A true story based on a false story, but has been deferred to 2026 by the publishers after threats of defamation proceedings from Hot Press, its editor Niall Stokes, and a solicitor who had advised Laura Lee. Responding to Tyaransen's admission of having had sex with Lee after interviewing her, the developers of a sex-worker safety app commented that "journalists should maintain clear professional boundaries with the people they interview".
2020s In 2020, in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic lock down in Ireland, Hot Press held a set of online music sessions called the Lockdown Sessions featuring artists such as Celaviedmai, Doppler, and Tebi Rex.