All-Ireland final the most watched programme this year

Sunday's All-Ireland football final was the most-watched programme on Irish television so far this year - with almost 300,000 more viewers tuning in for it than for Ireland's Rugby World Cup opener.

Dublin's All-Ireland triumph over Kerry was higher than Ireland's Six Nations clash with England, and well in excess of TV3's coverage of Ireland's first pool game against Canada on Saturday.

Ireland’s impressive start to the tournament drew in an average of 586,000 viewers, peaking at 706,000 as the game came to a close .

The following day in Croke Park, Dublin and Kerry’s contest in the rain attracted an average of 875,300 viewers.

Covered live on RTÉ2 the viewing figures peaked at 1.08 million as the match reached its climax, and Dublin claimed a third All-Ireland in five years.

This year’s decider attracted 49,100 more viewers than 2014’s All-Ireland football final between the Kingdom and Donegal - with the allure of the Dubs’ no doubt adding to the figures.

Before this weekend, Ireland’s Six Nations win over in England at the Aviva Stadium was the most watched game, followed by the All-Ireland hurling final a fortnight ago. Seven of the top 10 most viewed programmes fell on a Sunday.

TV3 has announced that across the first three days of Rugby World Cup 2015, over 2.2 million viewers tuned in to their coverage.

England’s opener against Fiji delivered an average audience of 394,000, while France versus Italy in Ireland’s pool averaged 349,000.

Top 10 Irish viewed programmes 2015

1. Sunday Game Live (Football Final: Dublin v Kerry) RTÉ2 Sunday 20th September 875,300

2. RBS 6 Nations (Ireland v England) RTÉ2 Sunday 1st March 756,200

3. Sunday Game Live (Hurling Final: Kilkenny v Galway) RTÉ2 Sunday 6th September 739,600

4. RTE News: Nine O’clock RTÉ One Sunday 18th January 729,000

5. Charlie (Episode 1) RTÉ One Sunday 4th January 726,300

6. RBS 6 Nations (Ireland v Scotland) RTÉ2 Saturday 21st March 697,00

7. RBS 6 Nations (Ireland v France) RTÉ2 Saturday 14th February 690,200

8. Saturday Game (Football semi-final replay: Dublin v Mayo) RTÉ2 Saturday 5th September 677,700

9. Sunday Game Live (Football semi-final: Dublin v Mayo) RTÉ2 Sunday 30th August 677,00

10. The Voice Of Ireland RTÉ One Sunday 22nd February 673,400