THE Northern Ireland accent has been voted sexiest in the world, according to a recent poll.

Co Antrim's Liam Neeson and Co Down's Jamie Dornan and Rory McIlroy, may have helped to ensure the popularity of the accent, according to the ASDA poll.

More than 2,000 people from across Britain were surveyed. Some 17 per cent said they preferred the Northern Irish accent, while the Scottish accent came in a close second at 15 per cent.

Clearly it's the northern Celtic inflection that alight passion in the opposite sex.

Only one per cent voted the Essex accent as sexy, closely followed by Brummie [Birmingham], Scouse [Liverpool] and Mancunian [Manchester] tones.

Last week the Irish accent dropped from the top rank as sexiest accent in the world to third.

The Time Out Global Dating Survey found that the British accent is the world’s favorite, followed by the American accent and then southern Ireland and Australian.

French, once considered the language of love, now they’re in fifth place with just 7.7 per cent of the vote.

Back in 2009 the Irish accent was found to be sexiest according to OnePoll.com, with Colin Farrell leading the way in sensuousness, but his northern counterparts have now outstripped him.