This research is concerned with the competition between various actors – journalists, government ministers and their advisors – to establish the dominant framing of climate change during a particularly eventful period of Irish political history, during which the Green Party was in government and Ireland underwent a dramatic financial crisis. Three levels of analysis are presented: a content analysis to determine levels and trends in media attention for climate change; a frame analysis to uncover journalistic framings, and analysis of interviews with environmental journalists, government ministers and media advisors. The findings of these analyses are then discussed in relation to the dynamics of framing and theories of agenda systems. The explanatory power of the mediated issue development model proposed by Nisbet and Huge (2006) is also assessed in relation to Ireland’s media coverage of climate change. Ireland’s media coverage of climate change is framed in predominantly political terms, while economic frames, frames emphasising the scientific consensus and frames foregrounding the moral and ethical aspects of the topic are also strongly represented. Sceptic arguments are not present in the coverage to any great degree, are largely confined to the opinion section and consist of dismissive and sarcastic references rather than substantive arguments. The frame competition emerges as a complex process in which government ministers attempt differing communications strategies: one minister emphasised a responsibility frame, while the other foregrounded economic and opportunity framings. Journalists, however, were constrained by news values and their journalistic culture and preferred political framings. These political framings stopped short of implicating the existing political and economic structures in creating climate change, but favoured ecomodern perspectives and solutions emphasising efficiency and techno-managerial solutions. More recent Irish media coverage of climate change has focused on constituent issues such as waste, water, energy efficiency and transport, thus further de-politicising the issue. The concluding remarks include recommendations for best practice in covering and communicating about climate change, including the necessity of employing specialized environment correspondents, the need to tailor news subsidies in a strategic manner, and the advisability of employing flexible framing strategies. The role of journalists as political media advisors is also assessed.