2021 will rightly be remembered as the year of women in sport in Ireland, with our top female athletes dominating the voting in many of the key categories in the Teneo Sport and Sponsorship Index (TSSI) 2021, which was released today.

The TSSI is a comprehensive 1,000 person nationally representative survey with quotas imposed across gender, region, age and social class. The research was carried out by Teneo’s Sports Advisory team and examines the Irish general public’s attitudes towards sport and their sporting heroes. This is the view of the general public and not a survey of sports fans. It is the twelfth year of the TSSI and the research was carried out between November 25 and December 9, 2021.

Extra elements of the survey will form a key part of the Sport for Business Sporting Year Ahead Event taking place on January 20th as a traditional kick start to the year.

Most Admired Sports Star 2021

Ireland’s three most admired sports stars are boxers Katie Taylor, Kellie Harrington (both 16%) and jockey Rachael Blackmore (9%).

Taylor defended her unified world lightweight titles while Harrington emulated her by winning an Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Games.

Blackmore won the Aintree Grand National and took the Champion Jockey prize at the Cheltenham festival.

Ireland rugby captain Jonathan Sexton came joint third in the poll on 9% alongside Blackmore, with Olympic gold medal rower Paul O’Donovan, Paralympian Ellen Keane, rugby player Tadhg Furlong and Ireland soccer captain Katie McCabe sharing fifth spot on 4%.

Ireland’s Greatest Sporting Achievement

Women also dominate this category, filling three of the top five slots. Kellie Harrington was taken to the nation’s hearts in 2021 and her Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games gold medal win was voted top Irish Sporting Achievement of the past 12 months by 20% of people – topping the poll.

Rachael Blackmore’s wins at the Aintree Grand National and the Cheltenham Festival saw her into third on 11% and Katie Taylor’s successful world title defences put her into fifth on 9%.

Separating them were Ireland’s men’s rugby team’s memorable win over New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium in November (in second place on 19%) and rowers Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy taking gold in Tokyo (fourth on 10%).

Team of the Year 2021

Team Ireland took home two gold medals and four bronze from the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, more than enough to see them voted Team of the Year. Medals in rowing and boxing were celebrated around the country and helped Team Ireland earn nearly a quarter of the vote (24%).

It was a fine autumn for Ireland’s men’s rugby team and their win over New Zealand in November clearly resonated with the public, with their 22% of support seeing them into second place.

Team Ireland at the Paralympics brought home seven medals, four gold, two silver and one bronze, and that was enough to see them into third place. Rounding out the top five are Ireland’s women’s soccer team, who remain in with a shot of qualifying for the next World Cup, and Limerick’s two-in-a-row winning senior hurlers (both 12%).

Dublin’s men’s footballers topped this poll in 2020 following their six-in-a-row of All-Ireland wins, but they didn’t feature prominently in this year’s vote after their semi-final exit against Mayo.

Favourite Sport 2021

Soccer shares top spot as Ireland’s Favourite Sport alongside Gaelic Games, both getting 18% of the vote. Soccer topped the poll for the first eight years of the TSSI before being dislodged by Gaelic Games (men’s and women’s football, hurling and camogie) in 2018.

Unsurprisingly, the country’s big three field sport have long dominated this category and rugby fills out the top three with 14% of the vote.

Tennis is always popular and once again takes fourth spot, though last year it shared this with cycling, which has dropped out of the top five, with athletics, basketball, golf, horse racing and triathlon sitting in joint fifth with 3% of the vote each.

 

Sports Event You’re Most Looking Forward To 2022

There’s a lot of great sport to look forward to in 2022 and the Irish public are eagerly anticipating a wide range of events and competitions. The Six Nations is the one we’re most looking forward to, and it’s one of the first big events in a busy 12 months, with 29% of the vote.

Next is World Cup 2022 in Qatar on 26%, even though Ireland won’t be taking part.

The GAA’s senior hurling and football championships are next on the list at 12% and 9% respectively. If all four Gaelic Games All-Ireland championships are gathered together, men’s and women’s football, hurling and camogie, they get 30% combined (camogie 6%, ladies football 3%).

Other strong performers in this category are the Cheltenham Festival at 7% and golf’s Irish Open at 6%.

 

“We’re nearing the end of an amazing 12 months for Irish women’s sport in particular and I think in years to come we will look back on 2021 as the year women’s sport in Ireland finally made the big breakthrough after so long knocking on the door,” said Teneo Managing Director Kelli O’Keeffe.

“There is still some way to go to ensure parity of esteem for women’s sport, but elite performers such as Katie, Kellie and Rachael are leading the way to ensure that we’re not far from the day this is finally achieved. The fact that the Irish public voted them as their three most admired sports stars, and that they dominated other categories in the TSSI too, show the appetite, understanding and appreciation of women’s sport that’s out there.”

“Katie and Kellie shared top spot as Ireland’s most admired sports star with Rachael sharing third alongside Ireland rugby captain Jonathan Sexton. The three of them featured again in Ireland’s greatest sporting achievement, topped by Kellie’s incredible gold medal win in Tokyo.”

“As a nation, we are drawn to sport like few others, and this is shown by the breadth of findings in the TSSI. A great year for soccer, men’s and women’s was acknowledged as it was installed back as the nation’s favourite sport alongside Gaelic Games. The medals won at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and Ireland’s win over New Zealand last month clearly struck a chord too, stirring emotions and making people feel proud to be Irish.”

 

 

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