Olytico’s analysis of Irish Sport on Social Media for January 2026 covers 12,200 posts, 4 million public engagements, and close to 16 million TikTok views.

X activity climbed 24% in comparison to the previous month, and engagements rose 21% to 126,000, while Facebook saw a 14% uplift in posting translate into 610,000 engagements (+18%).

As we often report, the real standout was Instagram; with a 9% increase in output, it generated a huge 27% jump to 2.51 million engagements, reinforcing the platform’s continued dominance for storytelling.

TikTok delivered the biggest efficiency win, with views surging 64% to 15.7 million, and four organisations breaking the ‘magic million’, led by the URC at 5.8 million views.

The analysis’ key takeaways include high-performing content leaning heavily into wholesome, shareable moments, the value of collaborations, and trend-aware execution.

In the infographics below, we have ranked each of the organisations across a range of metrics on each network, including the most active, the most engaged with, and the most engaging content as well as engagements per 1,000 followers where possible.

It is important to note that this analysis is based on publicly available data. It does not include any analysis or insight on paid or promoted content. When % figures are used (unless otherwise stated), they refer to the previous month’s figures.

Today, in the first of four articles on the Social Media metrics from last month, we are focusing on X.

Here is how our monthly report coverage will look this week.

X Analysis – Tuesday
Facebook Analysis – Wednesday
Instagram Analysis – Thursday
TikTok Analysis – Friday

 

January 2026 Highlights on X

 

 

Activity on X rose 24% in January, with 4,842 posts generating 126,030 engagements, a 21% increase on the previous month.

The amount of activity has bounced back from the same month last year when the total number of posts was 4,033, but still down on 2024 when it was 5,016.

The number of engagements continues to drift down from 265,000 two years ago, to 161,000 last year and 126,000 in the most recent comparison.

This was also a significant month in that Paralympics Ireland and Swim Ireland both suspended their use of the platform over issues of toxicity and decling relevance compared to other media.

Still, let’s have a look at the content that did prove to be a winner last month.

The NIFL (582, +6%) topped the X activity charts as Crusaders’ Finley Thorndike bamboozled the Dungannon defence to finish a move he had started from inside his own half.

 

Dublin GAA (520, +341%) started their Senior Football season with a win against Laois (link), and the GAA (449, +160%) were in third with a strong contender for sports image of 2026.

 

 

Cricket Ireland (281, +621%) launched their new T20 kit, and Rowing Ireland (38, +41%) announced Fiona Murtagh as the Senior Female Rower of the Year.

 

 

Ireland Football recorded the highest average engagements per post on X at 327 (+31%), and they were followed by Irish Rugby (111, –1%) and Leinster Rugby (57, +24%).

The League of Ireland topped the average engagements per 1,000 followers metric (171).

For the third month in a row, the Ireland Football account generated the most engaged with content on X, celebrating Caoimhín Kelleher’s penalty saving prowess. The post has generated over 4,000 public engagements to date.

 

 

 

 

X Analysis – Monday
Facebook Analysis – Tuesday
Instagram Analysis – Wednesday
TikTok Analysis – Thursday

 

If you would like to be part of the Sport for Business community and be added to the list, email us today and let’s see what is possible. If you would like a more detailed analysis of your social media activity, contact ross@olytico.com

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