ISM 2025
Irish Sports Monitor 2025 Key Findings
The Irish Sports Monitor (ISM) is an annual research programme commissioned by Sport Ireland and conducted by Ipsos B&A. Each year, the study surveys 8,500 people aged 16 and over through telephone interviews. The 2025 findings provide insights into active sports participation, social participation in sport, and physical activity levels. Social participation includes club membership, volunteering, and attendance at sporting events. The research also examines participation across key population groups, including gender, disability status, and socio-economic background.
Active Sports Participation
In 2025, 48% of the adult population regularly participated in sport, with the absolute number of participants continuing to rise to approximately 2.12 million. While this represents no statistically significant change from 2024 in percentage terms, the total number of participants continues to grow alongside population growth.
The top ten most popular sports were personal exercise, swimming, running, cycling, lifting weights, Gaelic games, soccer, dancing, yoga and golf. Based on current trends, the total number of people participating in sport is expected to continue increasing through to the end of the current National Sports Policy.
Social Sports Participation
Sport continues to play an important social role beyond active participation.
Social participation increased slightly in 2025 to 47% (2.04 million), up from 46% (2 million) in 2024, driven by growth in club membership.
Club membership reached 37% (1.61 million), increasing by one percentage point in each of the past two years, up from 35% in 2023 and 34% in 2017.
Weekly volunteering stood at 11% (0.49 million people), compared with 12% (0.50 million) in 2024 and 11% (0.41 million) in 2017.
Weekly attendance at sporting events was 19% (0.81 million), compared with 20% (0.86 million) in 2024 and 19% (0.69 million) in 2017.
Club membership, volunteering, and attendance at sporting events remain important indicators of engagement, highlighting sport’s contribution to social connection, community life, and civic participation in alignment with the Sports Action Plan 2024-2027.
Gender Gap – A Persistent Challenge
The gender participation gap remains one of the most persistent challenges in achieving the National Sports Policy 2018–2027 targets. In 2025, this gap widened slightly, highlighting the continued need for targeted investment and programme design to support and grow female participation in sport.
Disability Participation
Participation among people with disabilities reached a record high of 34% in 2025. The gap between people with and without disabilities narrowed to 19 percentage points, compared with 22 points in 2024. Participation rates stood at 34% for people with disabilities and 53% for those without disabilities, suggesting some progress in reducing inequality, though a significant gap remains.
Socio-economic Inequality
Clear socio-economic differences in participation continue to be evident, with significantly higher participation rates among ABC1 groups than C2DE groups. These disparities point to ongoing barriers related to cost, access, and opportunity, underlining the need for targeted interventions to support lower-income communities.
Level of Physical Activity
Almost two in five adults (approximately 40%) are classified as highly active, meaning they achieve the National Physical Activity Guidelines through sport and recreational walking. However, this represents a slight decline from 2024 and coincides with rising levels of sedentary behaviour.
Decline in Recreational Walking
Recreational walking has declined by 4 percentage points, returning close to pre-pandemic levels. This is a notable shift, given the important role walking plays in supporting overall physical activity levels.
Looking Ahead
The 2025 findings suggest the sports sector is entering an important phase in the delivery of the National Sports Policy. While participation remains strong in absolute terms, sustained progress will depend on addressing persistent inequalities across gender, disability, and socio-economic groups.
National Governing Bodies and Local Sports Partnerships will need to balance the delivery of national strategic priorities with locally focused activation through community programmes and Local Sports Plans. These decisions will shape the sector’s ability to meet the 2027 National Sports Policy targets.