GAA officially the most popular sport in Ireland again

“Gaelic Games are the nation’s favourite sport."

The GAA has finished top of the list as Ireland's most popular sport, according to research found by the Teneo Sport and Sponsorship Index 2022. Gaelic Games hits the number one spot for the fifth year in a row, with soccer nicking top place back in 2017. Soccer sits comfortably in second place, and rugby takes the third position, but tennis in fourth is probably the most surprising to most. With no overly famous tennis stars on the scene right now from the island of Ireland, it's unusual that it's so popular among the population, but it beats golf, athletics, cycling and all of the other sports in the country. Kelli O’Keeffe, the Managing Director, Teneo Ireland has said that “2022 was a phenomenally successful year for Irish athletes and sports teams across the board.

“Gaelic Games are the nation’s favourite sports and the Ireland Men’s Rugby Team’s Series Win in New Zealand stood out to the public as the greatest sporting achievement in 2022.

"With the Irish rugby team going into next year as the number one ranked team in the world it comes as no surprise that the 2023 Rugby World Cup is the most anticipated sporting event of next year for Irish people.

“As a nation our love and appreciation of sport is evident in the breadth of the findings in the TSSI where the palpable excitement for the GAA Championships, 6 Nations and FIFA Women’s World Cup along with a number of other sports such as boxing, golf, gymnastics, para sport and tennis all shine through.”

Here are the results in full:

Ireland’s Favourite Sport (top nine only)

1. Gaelic Games – 20%
2. Soccer – 17%
3. Rugby – 13%
4. Tennis – 6%
5. = Golf – 4%
6. = Horse Racing – 4%
7. = Cycling, Athletics, Basketball – 3%

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