This year delivered incredible performances across the board in Irish sport, but it was our female athletes in particular who provided so many of the standout moments and achievements.
Significant history was made over the past 12 months. Kellie Harrington was the first Irish woman athlete to win back-to-back gold medals at Olympic Games and Rhasidat Adeleke was the first Irish woman to make an Olympic sprint final, claiming an incredible fourth place. Ireland’s 4 x 400m relay team obliterated their national record to claim silver in the European Championships in June, qualify for the Olympic final and claim fourth place there. Incredible, inspiring performances – which have come to be expected by the Irish public.
These performances, and many more, have been clearly recognised in the annual Teneo Sport and Sponsorship Index (TSSI). This 1,000-person, nationally representative piece of research has been exploring Irish people’s attitudes towards sport and sponsorship for 15 years and has had a particular focus on women’s sport since 2018.
Women athletes claim four of the top five spots when it comes to our “most admired” athletes in 2024. Katie Taylor’s dominance at the top continues; she occupies the number one spot for the eighth year in a row, having garnered 15 per cent of the vote.
The person who looks most likely to topple her in the coming years is Adaleke, who is Ireland’s second most admired athlete (11 per cent) followed closely by Harrington (10 per cent). Adaleke is a new entry to the top five, and with the most votes from 18-24 year-olds, her popularity is clearly on the rise.
Rachael Blackmore continues to make her mark; she is in fifth place, on 5 per cent of the vote. These athletes’ performances over the last 12 months have been world class, regardless of their gender, and Irish people recognise this.
Appreciation for our female athletes because of their sporting achievements is also evident in other areas. Katie McCabe (3 per cent) is our most admired footballer, with Evan Ferguson following her closely on 2 per cent, while Leona Maguire is Ireland’s joint-second favourite golfer with Shane Lowry (2 per cent) – our favourite being Rory McIlroy (3 per cent).
When looking at Team of the Year, the Irish Women’s 4 x 400m relay team were voted third favourite (14 per cent) and the Irish women’s rugby team were recognised in fifth place following their qualification for the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup and famous win over New Zealand.
These results show that Irish people recognise and admire sportspeople for their achievements, and these achievements in 2024 certainly have a female bias.
Media and attendance
These athletes have commanded significant media coverage for their performances, with the Olympic and Paralympic Games dominating both the news and sports-news cycles for much of the summer. RTÉ figures show that the most viewed Olympic events were the finals that included Kellie Harrington, with a peak of 1.4 million viewers, and Rhasidat Adeleke, with a peak viewership of 926,000.
Even with these significant viewership figures, the number of those who said they watched a female sporting event either on TV or online has remained fairly static year-on-year, with 55 per cent saying they did so in 2024, a slight decrease on 2023, which was at 59 per cent.
A concern consistently raised by Irish people is around sports coverage, with only 43 per cent saying women’s sport received sufficient media coverage in 2024, although three-quarters say that both the quality and volume has improved in the past 12 months. It is an area that needs constant monitoring and awareness, but things are going in the right direction.
When it comes to attending in person, again the numbers are much the same year-on-year – this time last year almost a quarter of people said they intended to go to a women’s sports event in person while the reality was that 16 per cent of people did. This jumps to 24 per cent for those aged 35-44, which is the cohort who attended female sports events the most, and by a significant margin.
We have seen major women’s sports events incorporate other types of entertainment to enhance the product – Tom Grennan performing at the AIG Women’s Open being a good example of this. But, when the question was asked about what else would encourage Irish people to attend a women’s sports event one in three, which was the majority, said they wanted to attend “only for the sport”. Discounted ticket prices, which we can see in the likes of the National Women’s Soccer League in the United States, would add extra motivation to one in four people.
Another clear sign to me of the progress being made regarding women’s sport is the Women’s Uefa European Championships being in the top five events that Irish people are most looking forward to next year, even though we aren’t competing in it. This again shows that Irish sports fans appreciate and recognise high performance sport, regardless of the gender.
Gender balance in leadership
Those at the top of their game are making a significant mark; breaking boundaries and inspiring generations of boys and girls. A significant amount of work has been put in, particularly by organisations such as Sport Ireland, to ensure these athletes have the right environments and resources to excel. But what about those leading the various sports in Ireland?
Sport Ireland achieved a significant objective in 2024 with the overall percentage of women on boards in the Irish sports sector standing at 48 per cent in December. While this demonstrates that Sport Ireland and the Government’s approach has worked, the next important step will be maintaining this level into the future.
In order to do this I believe it is important that women put themselves forward for voluntary positions at grassroots level so that they can progress through the boards, committees and systems which ultimately lead to leadership positions at provincial and national levels.
As it stands our research shows that currently only 16 per cent of women volunteer, compared to almost a quarter of men. This figure needs to change if we are to maintain the ambition of meaningful gender balance on boards at a national level.
The primary motivations for women volunteering are to support their club in its development and growth (54 per cent), to give back to their community (48 per cent) and because their children are involved (43 per cent). It is imperative that those who are volunteering because of their children are motivated to stay on even when their children have graduated.
Our elite athletes and their outstanding performances on the world stage in 2024 have had a large impact on Irish sport, not just Irish female sport.
Attendance at and media coverage of women’s sporting events continue to need attention but with the Irish system producing world-class athletes there is no doubt that these areas will change for the better.
This, coupled with gender balance in leadership of our sports organisations, means that women’s sport in Ireland is on solid ground and the future for all involved and those they are inspiring is very exciting.