#Lapgate and #Royalbaby among top trends for Irish tweeters

The word 'Roma' was the top trending Irish news topic on Twitter in Ireland this year, presumably after news broke of the removal of a 7-year-old Roma girl from her home by gardaí over concerns about parentage.

The story spread rapidly on Twitter and around the world, but DNA tests later saw an embarrassing u-turn and the child was returned to them.

Political debates were high in the list of trending news topics released by Twitter today.

Twitter trending list shows the “hottest emerging topics of discussion”. It shows “what trended most frequently, rather than representing the volume of conversation about a topic or the most talked-about topics,” Twitter said in a press release.

Second on the list is #seanref, discussion on the referendum to abolish the Seanad , which was defeated . Third on the Irish news list is discussion on the Budget #budget2014.

Fourth topic on the news list is #oirsocm - discussion about an Oireachtas committee which was looking at social media and cyberbullying which included bringing representatives of Facebook and Twitter before TDs.

Twitter points out in its description of trends that they “ don’t give any indication of sentiment”. In the case of #oirsocm many tweets were about the TDs’ grasp of social media.

Another trending political topic which doesn’t necessarily imply approval was #lapgate at number six, a reference to the infamous incident during the all-night abortion debate in July when Cork East Fine Gael TD Tom Barry pulled fellow Cork deputy Aine Collins into his lap. The incident broke on social media when it was spotted by an eagle-eyed member of the public in the early hours.

In fifth place in trending news is “Seamus Heaney” after news broke of the death of the Nobel Laureate on the morning of August 30th, aged 74. Also making the list is #AngloTapes referring to the release of secret recordings from the bank.

At numbers eight in trending Irish news is Marie Fleming, the woman with multiple sclerosis who took a case to the Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the Act prohibiting assisted suicide. At number nine is Magdalene, as survivors of the laundries this year fought for compensation. And at 10 is Savita - referring to Savita Halappanavar whose death last year was the subject of much discussion during the abortion referendum this year.

When it comes to international news in Ireland, many major stories featured in the top ten including #Syria (one), music retailer HMV going into administration at three, Cyprus's financial problems (at four), the Boston Marathon bombing (#prayforboston) at number 7 and the ongoing problems in Egypt (6).

But it was people who dominated the top international news stories of interest to Irish people.Second in the list was the death of broadcaster David Frost ,remembered best for his Nixon interview.

The announcement by Angelina Jolie that she had a preventative double mastectomy created much debate and is at number 5. The sudden death of Sopranos actor James Gandolfini just edged out the election of Pope Francis at number nine. The biggest British media event of the year, the birth of the royal Baby, edges in at number ten.

The top Irish people who trended on Twitter are as follows. Numbe one was BOD as rugby player Brian O’Driscoll this year was not reinstated as Ireland captain and was controversially dropped from the Lions’ final test.

In second place was Roy Keane - the ex-Ireland football player was appointed assistant manager of the Irish football team. In third place was Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney

Broadcasters dominated with BBC broadcaster Graham Norton at four, at five was Pat Kenny - who moved from RTE to Newstalk after four decades. He pipped his replacement by one place as at number five is Sean O‘Rourke.. In ninth place is former Fine Gael Minister Ivan Yates as the broadcaster returned from bankruptcy in the UK to present the Newstalk breakfast show. Sports commentator Joe Brolly is at number ten. He sparked controversy and later apologisted for his outburst anbout the cynical foul play by Monaghan player Sean Cavanaug.

There was one woman on the list - Marie Fleming- at number nine. One historical figure made the top ten, Michael Collins, after the revolutionary leader was described as a “langer” on a brochure for Cork Rebel Week this summer.

When it comes to televisionVincent Browne’s late night TV3 show is a top hit with the Twitterati. Top trending TV show is Vinb. RTE prime time (RTEPT) is the only other current affairs programme (6) in a list dominated by reality televisoion. In second place is

The reality television shows are very popular for tweeters. They include X Factor (3rd place), Great Irish Beak Off (GIBO) in fouth place, The Apprentice (#the apprentice) in fifth place, The Voice (#rtethevoice) in seventh place, and Big Brother UK (#bbuk) in tenth place.

Some long-running favourites have also entered the twitter listwith Friday night staple The Late Late Show (Late Late) in second place, Match of the Day (MOTD) at eight and the Eurovision at nine.