Irish sporting organisations generated 6.63 million public engagements across X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok during June, despite publishing fewer posts than in the corresponding month last year.

The latest Irish Sport Social Media Report from Sport for Business and Olytico covers 12,012 posts during the month, alongside 17.88 million TikTok views.

That compares with more than 14,000 posts, 5.9 million engagements and 24.8 million TikTok views in June 2025. It means that the volume of content fell by approximately 14 per cent year-on-year, while total public engagement grew by more than 12 per cent. TikTok views were down by 28 per cent.

The headline figures tell only part of the story, however.

Cricket Ireland’s historic T20 series success against India transformed the Facebook figures and also powered the leading content on X. Horse Racing Ireland demonstrated the opportunity to reach beyond traditional sporting audiences through its Royal Ascot fashion content on TikTok, while Boxing Ireland produced the most engaged Instagram post of the month.

It was a month in which the right moments, presented in the right way, mattered more than the overall volume of publishing.

The analysis is based on publicly available information and does not include paid or promoted content.

 

X – Cricket Cuts Through as Overall Activity Declines

 

 

Activity on X fell sharply during June, with 4,106 posts representing a 31 per cent decrease from May.

It was also almost 30 per cent below the 5,847 posts published in June 2025. Engagement proved more resilient, however. The 219,928 public engagements recorded during the month represented a 41 per cent month-on-month increase and was only eight per cent below the 238,177 achieved a year earlier.

The League of Ireland remained the most active sporting account on the platform, publishing 600 posts. Its content included the story of Shamrock Rovers defender Pico Lopes becoming the first active League of Ireland player to appear at a FIFA World Cup.

 

 

 


The GAA followed with 562 posts, while Ladies Football published 378. Dublin GAA, the Northern Ireland Football League and Cricket Ireland were also among the most active accounts.

The strongest indication that activity alone does not determine impact came from Cricket Ireland. It averaged 366 engagements per post, ahead of Irish Rugby on 330 and Ireland Football on 193.

Cricket Ireland also led the engagement-per-1,000-followers measure at 302. The League of Ireland recorded 289, with Shamrock Rovers on 253.

A year ago, Athletics Ireland led that efficiency ranking at 323 engagements per 1,000 followers. Cricket Ireland’s emergence at the top in 2026 reflects the exceptional international interest generated by the series against India.

Its victory post following Ireland’s first T20 win over India generated more than 32,000 public engagements, making it the leading X post of June. That was more than ten times the engagement achieved by Dublin GAA’s leading post in June 2025.

 


Irish Rugby’s confirmation that Andy Farrell had extended his contract through to 2031 and Ireland Football’s celebration of the Women’s National Team victory over the Netherlands were among the other major engagement drivers.

The broader trend remains one of declining activity on X. June’s engagement increase shows that the platform can still deliver around major breaking stories, but organisations are increasingly publishing less and demanding more from the content they retain.

 

Facebook – Cricket Ireland Produces an Extraordinary Engagement Surge

 

 

Facebook delivered the most dramatic result of the month.

The 4,852 posts published represented an 18 per cent decline from May, but generated 3,348,329 public engagements. That was a month-on-month increase of 324 per cent.

The year-on-year comparison is even more striking. June 2025 produced 745,818 engagements from 4,461 Facebook posts. Publishing activity in June 2026 was therefore nine per cent higher, but engagement grew by almost 350 per cent.

Cricket Ireland was overwhelmingly responsible for the change.

 


Its posts averaged 10,909 engagements, almost five times the 2,295 average achieved by second-placed Irish Rugby. The BKT United Rugby Championship ranked third on 847, helped by Leinster’s URC final victory at Croke Park.

Cricket Ireland also recorded 2,331 engagements per 1,000 followers. Horse Racing Ireland was next on 1,045, followed by Squash Ireland on 733.

For context, Squash Ireland led this measure in June 2025 with 1,860 engagements per 1,000 followers. Cricket Ireland’s figure surpassed that benchmark while operating from a significantly larger audience base.

Its leading content celebrating the T20 series victory against India generated close to 500,000 public engagements. The scale of the response illustrates the extraordinary digital weight of Indian cricket and the opportunity created when an Irish performance connects with that global audience.

The League of Ireland was the most active Facebook account with 554 posts, followed by the GAA on 491 and the Northern Ireland Football League on 245. Ladies Football, Cricket Ireland, Horse Racing Ireland and Dublin GAA also published more than 200 times.

Away from the month’s biggest story, Special Olympics Ireland averaged 290 engagements per post during the Ireland Summer Games. Hockey Ireland benefited from its Nations Cup victory over the United States, while Golf Ireland’s celebration of Stuart Grehan becoming the Amateur Champion also performed strongly.

 

Facebook can sometimes be regarded as the least fashionable of the four principal channels. June’s figures are a reminder that it retains enormous reach, particularly when content crosses international borders or connects with established communities.

 

Instagram – Boxing Ireland Delivers the Month’s Breakthrough Moment

 

 

Instagram generated 2,034,894 public engagements from 2,464 posts during June.

Activity was 30 per cent lower than in May, with engagement falling by 26 per cent. Compared with June 2025, when 3,363 posts generated 3.22 million engagements, activity was down by approximately 27 per cent and engagement by 37 per cent.

The League of Ireland led the activity table with 406 posts in the June infographic, followed by the Northern Ireland Football League on 138 and Horse Racing Ireland on 133.

Irish Rugby produced the highest average engagement per post at 4,478. Ireland Football followed on 3,310, with the GAA on 2,726.

Those leading averages remained relatively close to the previous year. Irish Rugby averaged 4,923 in June 2025, while the GAA recorded 3,758. In June 2024, the GAA average was 3,597, showing that its performance has remained consistently strong even as overall Instagram engagement has fluctuated.

The outstanding performance of the month came from Boxing Ireland.

The organisation led the engagement-per-1,000-followers ranking with 7,084, well ahead of Tennis Ireland on 1,974 and Horse Racing Ireland on 1,679.

Boxing Ireland’s leading post celebrated Ella Conway being crowned Four Nations Under-17 44kg champion. It generated more than 136,000 public engagements, making it the most-engaged Instagram post in the June analysis.

 

 

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A post shared by Boxing Ireland (@boxingireland)


Its impact was considerably greater than that of the leading Instagram content in June 2025, when an Ireland Football post featuring the Down Syndrome Futsal team at the European Championships generated more than 35,000 engagements.

The result demonstrates the opportunity Instagram continues to provide for smaller governing bodies. A compelling human moment, strong visual treatment and an achievement capable of travelling beyond an organisation’s existing follower base can overturn the conventional audience hierarchy.

Sport Ireland also performed strongly as it marked the start of construction on the National Cricket Centre, while the Gaelic Players Association generated interest around Galway footballer Sean Fitzgerald’s appearance in the Love Island villa.

 


TikTok – Fewer Views Than 2025 but Growing Commitment to the Platform

 

 

Sport for Business member organisations published 590 TikTok videos in June, generating 1,030,520 public engagements and 17.88 million views.

Compared with May, publishing activity fell by 20 per cent, but engagement increased by 52 per cent, and views rose by 62 per cent.

The year-on-year picture is more mixed. In June 2025, 468 videos generated 1.69 million engagements and 24.82 million views. Irish sport therefore published 26 per cent more TikTok content this June, but generated 39 per cent fewer engagements and 28 per cent fewer views.

The comparison highlights TikTok’s volatility. One or two exceptional pieces of content can transform a monthly total.

In June 2025, the URC generated 8.95 million views and Ireland Football recorded 8.04 million. This year, three organisations passed one million views: Horse Racing Ireland with 6.68 million, the URC with 5.77 million and Boxing Ireland with 1.45 million.

Horse Racing Ireland was the most active account with 77 posts, followed by Boxing Ireland on 66 and the League of Ireland on 59. Dublin GAA published 45 videos, with the URC and Ladies Football both on 34.

 

@hriracing Ladies Day class and elegance from Gemma Owen 💅🏼 #Ascot #RoyalAscot #Fashion #OOTD ♬ orijinal ses – Naz

The URC produced the highest average engagement per post at 6,739, ahead of Horse Racing Ireland on 5,426 and Ireland Football on 5,298. Shamrock Rovers was close behind on 5,292.

The leading content came from outside the field of play.

Eight of Horse Racing Ireland’s ten most-viewed posts featured fashion or celebrities rather than racing. Its video featuring Gemma Owen at Royal Ascot generated 3.32 million views and 214,731 public engagements.

That performance offers an important lesson for rights holders and sponsors. Sporting events are cultural and social occasions as well as competitions. Content that draws on fashion, entertainment and personality can expand the available audience without diminishing the sporting product at its centre.

 

 

Sport for Business Perspective

June was a strong illustration of the difference between producing content and producing impact.

Overall, publishing was down in June 2025, yet public engagement increased. Cricket Ireland turned a historic victory into a global Facebook moment, Boxing Ireland found an audience far beyond its follower base on Instagram, and Horse Racing Ireland used the wider cultural appeal of Royal Ascot to dominate TikTok.

X remains valuable for immediate sporting news but continues to experience declining publishing activity. Facebook demonstrated its power to deliver content to large international communities. Instagram rewarded the most compelling achievement-led storytelling, while TikTok again showed that sport does not have to remain between the white lines to reach millions.

The opportunity for Irish sporting organisations is not simply to publish more. It is to recognise the moments with the potential to travel, understand which channel best serves each story, and shape content for the audience it could reach rather than only for the audience already following.

 

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.

 

 

 

 

All of the sporting organisations listed in these tables are full members of Sport for Business.

If you would like to be part of the Sport for Business community and see your organisation in our content, on our stages, and in the conversation happening every day around the commercial world of Irish Sport, email us today and let’s see what is possible.

Image Credit: Sport for Business

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