Today’s review of Irish Sport on Social media focuses on Instagram where there are plenty of success stories but also a continuing downward trend in the number of engagements.That has been the same on each of X, Facebook, and Instagram for three months in a row.
It could be a short-term blip, and it is undoubtedly in part due to a changing emphasis on social channels, as we will discover in tomorrow’s look at activity on TikTok.
Here is how our coverage of the monthly report has shaped up during the week.
X Analysis – Monday
Facebook Analysis – Tuesday
Instagram Analysis – Wednesday
TikTok Analysis – Thursday
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.
February 2025 Highlights on Instagram
Instagram activity rose 35% in January to 2,595 posts, a good 20% up on last year’s 1,969 posts. The cut-through level did not mirror this, though, with a decline of almost 800,000 to just over five million engagements.
It is certainly not for a lack of effort or a reduced quality of content.
The League of Ireland topped the Instagram activity charts once more with 506 posts (+50% on last month and up from 304 posts in February 2024) One of their best performing posts celebrated a record-breaking crowd of 33,208 at the Aviva stadium.
In second, Irish Rugby (179, +145%) retained the Triple Crown with a victory against Wales at The Principality Stadium, and in third, Athletics Ireland (164, +193%) saw a fantastic performance from Sharlene Mawdsley as she claimed the National Senior Indoor 400m title with a time of 51.91 seconds.
The Northern Ireland National Team (97, +322%) unveiled plans for a new National Football Centre, Team Ireland (22, +120%) announced their new title sponsor partnership with Allianz, and Horse Racing Ireland (31, +107%) saw Galopin Des Champs complete an Irish Gold Cup hat-trick at Leopardstown.
Irish Rugby topped the average engagement per post chart (15,125, +60% month on month with the Guinness Six Nations but down on the peak from last year of 17,046).
They were followed by the GAA (4,054, -17%) as David Clifford scored 3-3 on his first start of the season, and the Ireland Football account (3,121 -41%) who showcased their young talent as two MU19 talents made their professional league debuts – 18-year-old Trent Kone-Doherty made his senior Liverpool debut in their FA Cup clash with Plymouth Argyle, whilst 17-year-old Ike Orazi made his Ligue 1 debut for Stade Reims away to Lyon.
Squash Ireland (67, +253%) saw Hannah Craig and Conor Moran crowned 2025 Senior National Champions.
Triathlon Ireland (149, +187%) celebrated as Luke McCarron earned his first international podium, in a sprint finish for third place at the Asia Triathlon Cup Chennai.
Horse Sport Ireland (232, +62%) saw Ireland secure victory in the Abu Dhabi leg of the Longines League of Nations.
With a 49% increase compared to January, the League of Ireland (4,436) once again claimed the top spot for ‘highest engagements per 1,000 followers’.
With this stunning INPHO image of Bundee Aki, the Irish Rugby account claimed the most engaged with content on the platform in February, at the time of writing the post has generated over 85,000 public engagements.
X Analysis – Monday
Facebook Analysis – Tuesday
Instagram Analysis – Wednesday
TikTok Analysis – Thursday
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SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE
That’s three months in a row of a year-on-year decline in engagements across Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We’ll be exploring this in greater depth in the coming weeks.
WHAT’S UP NEXT?
TikTok is the Final of our Four Channels and will be covered on Sport for Business Tomorrow.
MEMBERSHIP AND EVENTS
All the sporting organisations listed in this analysis are full members of the Sport for Business community.
The Sport for Business Membership comprises over 300 organisations, including all the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies.Â
