Sam Fender Wins Mercury Prize While Fontaines DC and CMAT Left in the Shadows

No Irish act has ever won the Mercury Prize and despite two heavyweight contenders, 2025 proved no different as Fontaines DC and CMAT were overlooked in favour of local lad Sam Fender.

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There is a mild frisson of excitement in the music world after the Mercury Prize winner announcement. Sam Fender, a working class singer-songwriter from North Shields, has claimed the prestigious award for his album People Watching. This victory is a moment of celebration for Fender and his fans - he is not a nepo baby and he's not from London - but neither are Fontaines DC and CMAT. What does an Irish act have to do to win? And also what is the Mercury Prize for?

The Mercury Triumph of Sam Fender

It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the judges were affected by sentimentality - it's a great 'local boy done good and wins in his hometown' story. And no disrespect to Sam - he is one of the few artists since Manic Street Preachers to successfully mix music with a working class sensibility and a left leaning social commentary.

But as James Auton noted in his God Is In TV article "Fundamentally, the Mercury was there to help the artist that won it. Twenty five grand to use however they choose. In a lot of cases to buy equipment, pay for studio time, finance a tour or maybe pay back record label debt. You struggle to think what difference it will make to Sam. Maybe a better lighting rig for his next stadium gig. I’m probably doing him a disservice and he’s not rich beyond his wildest dreams but if he’s doing stadium concerts he’s probably alright."

The Overlooked Contenders: Fontaines DC and CMAT

The absence of accolades for Fontaines DC and CMAT this year, and Lankum last year, brings a mix of disappointment and curiosity. Fontaines were nominated in 2019 after their debut album Dogrel - if they were going to win surely it should have been for that stunning debut. Why nominate them again? Go for real 2025 breakthrough Irish bands such as NewDad, Gurriers or Sprints. Or indeed CMAT. While she may seem to have been around for years, particularly after a memorable Glastonbury set this year, she was virtually unknown 18 months ago.

It feels like Irish is a genre (along with jazz/rap/folk) to be tokenistically added to the nominees.

Looks like we'll have to do our own Mercury nominations again after the virtual success of our An Gradam Lugh awards in 2023.