With over 13,000 posts and 3.56 million engagements across X, Facebook, and Instagram, and over 9.2 million views on TikTok, Olytico’s analysis for May includes impressive months for Athletics Ireland and the League of Ireland.

X remains the platform for the latest news from all the Sports for Business Member organisations, with Instagram delivering the majority of public engagements.

This month we saw the continued influence of the Asian market in cricket, with Cricket Ireland’s victory against Pakistan dominating the engagement charts in May – and goes a long way to explain Cricket Ireland’s partnership strategy with Indian brand Nandini for the T20 World Cup.

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.

 

May 2024 Highlights on X

 

 

Activity on X rose again by 3.2% to 6,660 posts, but engagements fell 5.4% to 258,941 in May.

 

Dublin GAA topped the activity charts on X with 892 posts (+23%) as their Senior Hurlers reached the Leinster Final. In second, the League of Ireland (818, +10%) saw Stephen Kenny return to management with St. Patrick’s Athletic and in third the GAA (637, +2%) showcased this wonder finish from Clare’s Ikem Ugweru against Kerry.

 


Special mentions to Canoeing Ireland (46, +171%), which won the ‘National Governing Body of the Year’ award at the Irish Sport Awards, Hockey Ireland (277, +164%), which secured the Men’s team’s first three points in the FIH Pro League with a 2-1 victory against Belgium, and Triathlon Ireland (81, +125%), which James Edgar took silver and Jonathan Oakey took bronze for Team Ireland in the Asia Triathlon Cup.

 


Irish Rugby topped the X engagement charts with an average of 165 engagements per post (+54%) as they wished Leinster well ahead of their Investec Champions Cup Final against Toulouse. In second, Ireland Football (153,-51%) congratulated Sam Szmodics as he made the EA Sports FC Team of the Season thanks to his goalscoring exploits, and in third, Athletics Ireland (144, +44%) celebrated a new national record of 3:11.53 by the Mixed 4x400m team as they won bronze at the World Athletics Relays.

 


Swim Ireland (32, +146%) congratulated Ellen Walshe as she smashed a 28-year-old Irish Record with a sensational swim in the 400 Medley at the Leinster Championships; Walshe knocked a second off the record that has stood since 1996. The Irish FA (16, +78%) received a glowing report from UEFA following the Europa League Final at the Aviva, and Team Ireland  (44, +69%) added the Mixed and Women’s 4 x 400m relay squads to their roster for Paris 2024 after a spectacular few days of competition in the Bahamas.

 


With a magnificent month on the track, Athletics Ireland (587) topped the average engagements per 1,000 followers metric as both Rhasidat Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley continued their excellent preparation for Paris this Summer.

 


It was Cricket Ireland that produced the most engaged with piece of content on X in May, as the Men’s T20 team defeated Pakistan for the first time, chasing down the total with one ball to spare. To date, this post has generated an incredible 13,000 public engagements.

 


May 2024 Highlights on Facebook

 

 

 

Facebook activity reversed last month’s decline rising 3.2% to 4,200 posts and generating 741,190 engagements – a 27% increase.

 

For the second month in a row, the League of Ireland topped the Facebook activity charts; their 643 posts were a 13% increase on the previous month and they were most engaged with content related to the Palestinian Women’s team’s fixture against Bohemians. In second, the GAA  (447, +11%) welcomed Leinster to Croke Park for the Champions Cup semi-final, and in third, the Ladies Gaelic Football account (367, +7%) took us behind the scenes as Tyrone’s Jayne Lyons picked up the Lidl Team of the League Award.

 


 

Sport Ireland (36, +71%) congratulated Ciara Mageean as she became the first ever Irish Woman to break 1:59 for the 800m, and Horse Sport Ireland (102, +55%) saw Lucy Latta place second in the Badminton Horse Trials on RCA Patron Saint.

 



Cricket Ireland (857, +193%) topped the average engagement per post charts, Irish Rugby (823, -1%) in second announced Six Nations Rugby’s first U20 Women’s Summer Series in Italy this July, and in third, Athletics Ireland (423, +135%) kept us up to date with Sarah Lavin’s form as she took victory in the 100m hurdles in France.

 



Team Ireland (414, +251%) brought us news of more Olympic Qualifications, this time on the water as the Women’s Four Rowing team secured their place at Paris, bringing the total number of boats for Ireland to 8 for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 


Athletics Ireland (1,362) topped the average engagements per 1,000 followers metric.

 

With close to 59,000 public engagements, Cricket Ireland’s victory post after Beating Pakistan was the most engaged with Facebook post in May.

 


May 2024 Highlights on Instagram

 

 

Instagram activity fell by 3.98% in May (2,583 posts), and engagements on the platform decreased by 11% (2.56 million).

 

The activity charts were once again topped by the League of Ireland (443 posts and 152 Reels) with their post on Stephen Kenny’s return to St. Pat’s their top post, and their top Reel came from this 91st minute winner in the Dundalk v Shamrock Rovers fixture. In second, Leinster Rugby (258, +5%) took us on the field after victory in the semi-final of the Champions Cup, and in third, Connacht Rugby (138, -13%) congratulated Bundee Aki on winning the Rugby Players Ireland Men’s XVs Players’ Player of the Year award.

 

 

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A post shared by League of Ireland (@leagueofireland)

 

 

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A post shared by League of Ireland (@leagueofireland)

 

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A post shared by Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby)

 

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A post shared by Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby)

 

Swim Ireland (134, +173%) featured Danielle Hill as she secured a new Irish Senior Record, a Championship Record and hit the Olympic Qualification time at the Irish Open, Sport Ireland (29, +142%) recognised the 100 days until the Paralympics in Paris and Triathlon Ireland chatted to Imogen Cotter as she crossed the finish line after completing her first Olympic distance triathlon.

 

 

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A post shared by Swim Ireland (@swimireland)

 

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A post shared by Sport Ireland (@sportireland)

 

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A post shared by Triathlon Ireland (@triathlonireland)


Irish Rugby (7,572, +242%) topped the average engagement per post chart as Simon Zebo announced his retirement and Hugo Keenan made the switch to 7s ahead of the Olympics. In second, Ireland Football (4,323, -25%) recognised the Ireland Down Syndrome Futsal team as they beat the United States 11-2 in a friendly, and in third, the GAA (2,920, -24%) launched the Tailteann games.

 

 

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A post shared by Irish Rugby (@irishrugby)

 

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A post shared by Irish Rugby (@irishrugby)

 

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A post shared by Ireland Football (@irelandfootball)

 

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A post shared by Official GAA (@officialgaa)

 

For the second month in a row, the League of Ireland (3,990, +9%) took top spot for the ‘average engagements per 1,000 followers’ metric, followed by Athletics Ireland (3,806, +156%) and Leinster Rugby (3,061, +6%).

 

Cricket Ireland’s announcement of Nandini as the team sponsor of the national men’s team for the ICC T20 World Cup was the most engagement with post on the platform in May – to date the post has generated over 63,000 public engagements.

 

 

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A post shared by Cricket Ireland (@cricket_ireland)


 

May 2024 Highlights on TikTok

 

 

 

306 TikToks (-9%) were published by Sport for Business members in May, which resulted in 413,744 engagements (-38%) and 9.23 million views (-33%).

 

Ireland Football (4.59 million) and Leinster Rugby (1.04 million) topped the viewing list with special mentions to the URC (964,000) and League of Ireland (921,000).

 

Leinster Rugby (80) topped the activity charts as they took us into the tunnel ahead of the Champions Cup Final walkout at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium, followed by the URC (60) as Kurt-Lee Arendse set up a length-of-the-field try against Glasgow.

 

@leinsterrugby Walking out for a Champions Cup final. 🚶🏟️🎆 #LEIvTOU #ChampionsCupFinal #leinsterrugby #stadiumwalk ♬ MILLION DOLLAR BABY (VHS) – Tommy Richman

@urcWhen Kurt-Lee Arendse hears the braai is lit ♨️♬ original sound – United Rugby Championship

 

The Ladies Gaelic Football account (34) brought us this from the Offaly Under 14’s girls team, adding to the unstoppable month for Offaly Gaelic Games teams.

 

@ladies_gaelic_football What a performance on snd off the pitch by Offaly Under 14’s! #LGFAU14 ♬ original sound – Official LGFA

When ranked by average engagement per post, Ulster Rugby topped the charts (29,996), followed by Ireland Football (6,501) and the League of Ireland (5,227).

With over 36,000 public engagements, the League of Ireland generated the top content in May with this content from Longford Town.

@leagueofireland Cracker 😅 #LOI | @Longford Town FC ♬ original sound – League of Ireland

 

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Olytico and all the Organisations featured in this report are full members of the Sport for Business Community.

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