Ylvis Fox and Sminky Shorts are Ireland’s favourite YouTube clips

Marriage proposals and animals eating, taxi-men dancing and the Ylvis Fox speaking; Miley Cyrus on wrecking balls and all of Pink's bling, these are a few of our favourite things.

The magical world of escapism that is YouTube has revealed exactly what tickled the fleeting fancy of Irish users in 2013, throwing up everything from the most cringe-inducing concert performances to anchorman extraordinaire Ron Burgundy's comments on RTE's Love/Hate.

In all, ten arbitrary clips and another ten music videos have been thrown up as a barometer of exactly how the Irish like to spend their surfing time.

And in keeping with the website’s character, our 20 favourite bits and pieces are an eclectic mix of music, short animations and randomly captured slices of life.

Top of the ten most watched videos was “What Does The Fox Say?”, also the global leader, by the Norwegian comedy duo Ylvis, a clip so popular it also took the plaudit for being the fastest rising search in the month of September and generated more than 265 million views around the world.

In second place here was the ever-popular Sminky Shorts, the particular animated favourite being “Elephant”, in this case about one who thinks he’s a fish.

Also in the top five was a video about animals eating their food; a Rose of Tralee wedding proposal and our very own Republic of Telly sketch, “You know you’re Irish when...”

The Google owned site also released the most popular music video results and said that the popularity of the site is such that over 80 per cent of its hits now come from outside the US.

Unlikely to be a reflection on her singing prowess, Ireland's favourite music video was Miley Cyrus on her wrecking ball, followed by Robin Thicke (Blurred Lines) and Avicii (Wake Me Up).

Naughty Boy, Pink and Daft Punk accounted for the rest of the top five.

"Irish audiences are big users of YouTube, in fact they are the largest consumers of the channel in Europe with 81 per cent of the population viewing content on the site weekly," said Cera Ward, country manager for Google.

"The surge in smartphone and tablets ownership in Ireland has led to increased viewership of YouTube.

“People are using YouTube in different ways now. You don’t just watch videos - you share, like, comment and interact. They are what get us talking, sharing and laughing.”

Top 10 Videos

1. Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)

2. Sminky Shorts: Elephant

3. Republic of Telly – You Know You’re Irish When…

4. How Animals Eat Their Food

5. My Wedding Speech – McFly’s Tom Fletcher

6. Irish lad in Canada wishes his ma a happy birthday Nidge style

7. Ron Burgundy on Love/Hate series finale in Ireland

8. Class Dublin Taxi Driver

9. Attraction perform their stunning shadow act - Week 1 Auditions | Britain’s Got Talent

2013

10. New Orleans Proposal - Rose of Tralee 2013

Top 10 Music Videos

1. Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball

2. Robin Thicke – Blurred Lines ft. T.I., Pharrell

3. Avicii - Wake Me Up (Lyric Video)

4. Naughty Boy - La La La ft. Sam Smith

5. P!nk - Just Give Me A Reason ft. Nate Ruess

6. Daft Punk - Get Lucky (Official Audio) ft. Pharrell Williams

7. PSY - GENTLEMAN M/V

8. Miley Cyrus - We Can’t Stop

9. Bastille – Pompeii

10. Avicii Vs Lurgan - “Wake M e Up” as Gaeilge