With over 125,000 posts, and 69 million public engagements analysed, 2023 was a bumper year for Olytico’s analysis and a testament to the exceptional year for the Sports for Business member organisations on social media.
December’s analysis covers over 8,000 posts, 3.7 million engagements across X, Facebook, and Instagram, and more than 4.5 million views on TikTok.
Whilst December was the quietest month of the year for activity this isn’t unusual as we saw a similar trend in 2022 – and whilst activity and engagements were both down 12% when compared to the previous month, for context December 2023 activity was up 16% and engagements were up an impressive 70% compared to the same period in 2022.
With a world record in the pool for Daniel Wiffen, news of Andy Farrell’s contract extension as Head Coach of the Men’s Rugby Team, and several Sportsperson of the Year titles announced, December’s analysis is full of positive stories as we move into 2024 and what is sure to be an exciting Olympic Year for Irish Sport on social media.
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.
Read about our Inaugural Irish Sport on Social Media Conference that took place last November.
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.
December 2023 Highlights on X
Activity on X fell by 12% in December, with 3,817 posts generating 259,168 engagements, an 8% decrease on the previous month.
Once again, the Ladies Football account topped the activity charts with 538 posts (+7%) as “Little Ballinamore” made it to Croke Park with this goal from Aoibheann Flynn. Ulster Rugby in second (363, -3%) enjoyed a memorable home European victory against Racing 92, and Leinster Rugby in third (324, -12%) confirmed the signing of RG Snyman from Munster.
‘Little Ballinamore are going to Croke Park!’
See the most incredible finish as a 62nd minute goal from Aoibheann Flynn wins the @currentacc_ie All Ireland IFC semi-final.
It’s @BallinamoreSOH 0-10 @BrianOgs 1-8 as we join it with @JeromeQuinn & Clare Owens on commentary.. pic.twitter.com/TU0XAEgYMj
— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) December 2, 2023
European nights at home. That was huge!
Thank you to our fans for their support tonight! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/P1O28kBMT3
— Ulster Rugby (@UlsterRugby) December 16, 2023
📜✍️ | 𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝘂𝗴𝗯𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗥𝗚 𝗦𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗻.
Read the full story here: https://t.co/FW9IuchGkT#FromTheGroundUp pic.twitter.com/VwzDsCeS0q
— Leinster Rugby (@leinsterrugby) December 19, 2023
Vision Sports Ireland (24, +200%) congratulated Jason Smyth on being inducted into the RTE Sport Hall of Fame, Cricket Ireland (214, +143%) celebrated Andrew Balbirnie becoming the fourth Irish batter in history to pass 3,000 career ODI runs, and the Camogie Association (96, +129%) extended their profound gratitude to JP McManus and Family for their generosity as it was announced that they are donating €1m to all 32 counties for distribution to clubs across the Gaelic Games family (link).
Forever the 🐐!
Jason Smyth inducted into the @RTEsport Hall of Fame 👏👏@ParalympicsIRE pic.twitter.com/tVkNmiwM24— Vision Sports Ireland (@visionsportsirl) December 16, 2023
That’s 3️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ Career ODI runs for Andrew Balbirnie 👏👏
He’s the fourth Irish batter to do so.
Congratulations 👊#BackingGreen ☘️🏏 pic.twitter.com/C19CMmlTqY
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) December 17, 2023
The Camogie Association Extends Profound Gratitude to JP McManus and Family for their generosity. 👏https://t.co/47pVSYINh0#OurGameOurPassion
— The Camogie Association (@OfficialCamogie) December 14, 2023
The Ireland Football account remained in top spot on the X engagement charts with an average of 376 engagements per post, a 4% increase on the previous month, as the WNT beat Northern Ireland 6-1 and they announced Eileen Gleeson’s appointment as the new Ireland WNT Head Coach. In second, Irish Rugby (355, +28%) confirmed the British & Irish Lions would be playing Argentina at the Aviva in June 2025, with Leinster Rugby in third (140, -52%).
FT | Unbeaten.#COYGIG | #OUTBELIEVE pic.twitter.com/NTtmVEY7mV
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) December 5, 2023
Eileen Gleeson appointed as the new Ireland WNT Head Coach ☘️#COYGIG
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) December 18, 2023
It’s Happening! 🎉The @lionsofficial in Dublin!
Excited much? We are!
The British & Irish Lions v Argentina.
🗓️ June 20th, 2025
🏟️ @AVIVAStadiumMore: https://t.co/HQi7DEpD06 pic.twitter.com/SkrpDQrc1V
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) December 7, 2023
Gymnastics Ireland (36, +260%) congratulated Rhys McClenaghan as he was named the 2023 RTE Sport Sportsperson of the Year, and Paralympics Ireland (30, +200%) celebrated Gold for Nicole Turner in Vancouver. Athletics Ireland (58, +164%) congratulated the Cross-Country team as they became European Champions.
He’s done it!!! @McClenaghanRhys is the 2023 @RTEsport Sportsperson of the Year! Huge congratulations Rhys! 🥇 🏆 🇮🇪☘️ pic.twitter.com/fnE2q3eYex
— Gymnastics Ireland (@GymnasticsIre) December 17, 2023
Gold for Nicole Turner in Vancouver! 🥇#TheNextLevel pic.twitter.com/rwncUhCE5g
— Paralympics Ireland (@ParalympicsIRE) December 2, 2023
European Champions🤩
Legends🇮🇪#IrishAthletics #Brussels2023 @ask123ie pic.twitter.com/FdpK0LO1WO
— Athletics Ireland (@irishathletics) December 10, 2023
Swim Ireland (42, +163%) celebrated as Daniel Wiffen set a new World Record in the 800m Freestyle of 7:20.46, smashing the oldest world swimming record on the books, set by Grant Hackett in 2008. This achievement also saw them top the ‘average engagements per 1,000 followers’ metric for December with an average of 523 engagements per 1,000 followers.
𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗟𝗗 𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗗
He’s done it! Daniel Wiffen has set a new World Record in the 800m Freestyle of 7:20.46.
Incredible swim, he’s smashed the oldest world swimming record on the books, 2008 Grant Hackett 7:23.42 🤯#LENOtopeni2023 #TeamIreland pic.twitter.com/STDvYkjbZ9
— Swim Ireland (@swimireland) December 10, 2023
Irish Rugby’s announcement of the extension of Andy Farrell’s contract to 2027, was the most engaged with content on X during the month, generating over 7,000 public engagements.
We’re delighted to announce Andy Farrell has signed a long-term contract extension to remain as Ireland Men’s Head Coach until 2027! ✍️#TeamOfUs
— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) December 14, 2023
December 2023 Highlights on Facebook
Facebook activity fell by 14% in December (2,609 posts) which resulted in a small 0.2% decrease to 585,682 engagements.
The Ladies Gaelic Football account topped the activity charts once again with 360 posts (-24%), with Leinster Rugby (235, -7%) in second and the BKT URC (193, -22%) in third.
Cricket Ireland (154, +130) celebrated victory on tour in Zimbabwe and Vision Sports Ireland (26, +100%) launched their Vision Impaired Physical Education Teaching Guide with the help of All-Star David Clifford, a PE teacher at St. Brendan’s College, Killarney.
Athletics Ireland (251, +144%) congratulated Fionnuala McCormack as she ran the Olympic qualifying time with 2:26:19 at the Valencia Marathon.
For the second month in a row, Irish Squash (944) topped the average engagements per 1,000 followers metric, as the Men’s team took part in the World Squash Federation Men’s Team World Championship.
The announcement from the IRFU that Andy Farrell has signed a long-term contract extension to remain as Ireland Men’s Head Coach until 2027 proved to be the most engaged with content on the platform during December. To date, the post has generated close to 29,500 public engagements.
December 2023 Highlights on Instagram
Instagram activity fell 10% in December, with 1,801 posts generating 2.9 million engagements, a 15% decrease on the previous month.
Leinster Rugby topped the activity charts with 201 posts (-1%), top content from the Province included their RG Snyman signing announcement and their top reel featured Kevin Sinfield as he stopped in at UCD midway through his fifth ultra marathon in five days in aid of MND. In second, the BKT URC (190, -12%) featured Damian Willemse’s try against Zebre Parma, and in third the League of Ireland (151, -5%) featured this goal from Shamrock Rovers’ Jack Byrne.
Special Olympics Ireland (7, +600%) announced a Christmas recipe book collaboration with Shaws Department Stores, Cricket Ireland (33, +230%) compiled their top five moments from 2023 (link) and Basketball Ireland (85, -6%) announced plans for the redevelopment of the National Basketball Arena.
For the eighth month in a row, Irish Rugby (13,240, -35%) topped the average engagements per post metric. Ireland Football (4,352, -22%) in second visited Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin whilst in third, the GAA saw St. Thomas’ book their place in the AIB GAA SHC Club Final.
Volleyball Ireland (229, +83%) featured big plays from the Christmas Celtic Challenge with Scotland, and Golf Ireland (128, +62%) announced Sara Byrne and Alex Maguire as the 2023 Amateur Awards Winners.
Athletics Ireland (2,778, +80%) took top spot for the ‘average engagements per 1,000 followers’ metric, featuring a collection of their favourite photos from 2023.
Completing the X, Facebook, and Instagram hat-trick, the IRFU and Andy Farrell was the most engaged with content on Instagram in December. On Instagram their post generated close to 41,000 public engagements.
December 2023 Highlights on TikTok
235 TikToks (+10%) were published in December by member organisations, which led to 396,727 engagements (-20%) and 4.57 million views (-39%).
These views were driven by Leinster Rugby (925,000), Ladies Gaelic Football (656,487) and the URC (588,273).
Leinster Rugby (63 posts) topped the activity charts as they looked back at Jamie Osborne’s introduction to URC rugby, followed by the Ladies Gaelic Football account (39) as they bought us pitch side during the Senior Club All-Ireland Final and Connacht Rugby (22) as Mack Hansen limbered up ahead of the fixture against Ulster.
When ranked by average engagement per post, Ireland Football topped the charts (7,500), followed by Irish Rugby (4,789) and Ulster Rugby (3,280).
@leinsterrugby Is this the greatest intro from Jamie Osborne? It would appear so… #LeinsterRugby #rugbydebut #rugbyhits #JamieOsborne #Naas #naasrugby #LeinsterAcademy ♬ original sound – Leinster Rugby
@ladies_gaelic_football This final is proving to be an incredible battle 💯 #Igfaclub #allireland #crokepark #senior #ballymacarbry #kilkerrinclonberne #galway #waterford ♬ Hard News – DM Production
@connachtrugby Mack limbering up 🟢🦅 #ConnachtRugby #MackHansen #Rugby #Derby #Ulster #IrishRugby #URC #FYP ♬ Call on Me (Radio Mix) – Eric Prydz
Ireland Football published the piece of content that generated the most public engagement in the form of likes, comments, and shares as they shared this ‘Ridiculous control’ footage from the WNT’s training. The clip has generated close to 18,000 public engagements and been viewed over 120,000 times to date.
@ireland Ruediculous control 😌 #COYGIG #wnt #ireland #irelandwnt #ruesha #rueshalittlejohn ♬ original sound – Ireland
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