The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was originally named The Cranberry Saw Us, and featured singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler; Quinn was replaced as lead singer by Dolores O'Riordan in 1990, and the group changed their name to the Cranberries. The band classified themselves as an alternative rock group, but incorporated elements of indie rock, jangle pop, dream pop, folk rock, post-punk, and pop rock into their sound.

In 1991, the Cranberries signed with Island Records, and released their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993), to commercial success. Their second album, No Need to Argue (1994), brought the band to international fame and included the single "Zombie" which became a stadium anthem and one of the band's most recognizable songs. The band continued this success with the albums To the Faithful Departed (1996) and Bury the Hatchet (1999), and transferred to MCA Records in 2000. Their fifth album, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001), did not meet the commercial success of their preceding albums, and the band cited their dissatisfaction with MCA's promotion.

Following a six-year hiatus from 2003 to 2009, the Cranberries embarked on a North American tour which was followed by shows in Latin America and Europe. They released their sixth album, Roses (2012), their first album in eleven years since Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, and expanded their musical style with their seventh acoustic album, Something Else (2017). Following O'Riordan's death from drowning due to alcohol intoxication in 2018, Noel Hogan confirmed that the remaining members chose to disband out of respect for her. They disbanded after the release of their acclaimed final album, In the End (2019).

The Cranberries were one of the best-selling alternative acts of the 1990s, having sold nearly 50 million albums worldwide as of 2019. In their career, they won an Ivor Novello Award (out of two nominations), a Juno Award, an MTV Europe Music Award, a World Music Award, and were nominated for a Brit Award and a Grammy Award. The music video for "Zombie" is the first by an Irish band to reach one billion views on YouTube.