Irish Sports Monitor: More people embraced exercise even before coronavirus struck

The Irish Sports Monitor has measured adult participation in sport and physical activity since 2007

Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport, and the Gaeltacht Catherine Martin, and Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers, with (standing from left) chairman of Sport Ireland Kieran Mulvey, CEO of Sport Ireland John Treacy, Sport Ireland director of participation and ethics Una May, and director of Ipsos MRBI Kieran O'Leary at the launch of the Irish Sports Monitor on the Sport Ireland Campus. Photo by Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

It will be a while yet before the boffins can measure how Covid-19 has affected our relationship with sport and exercise but the 2019 Irish Sport Monitor, published today, paints a picture of a society that had been leaning towards a more active lifestyle before everything changed.

Participation in sport jumped 3% in the calendar year with 46% of the Irish population, roughly 1.7 million people, participating in sport at least once a week. Personal exercise remains the most popular activity (16%), followed by swimming (9%), running (7%), and cycling (4%).