The Republic of Ireland’s 3-1 defeat to Croatia on Sunday attracted record audience figures for RTÉ, with 2.3 million tuning in at some juncture.

An average figure of 1.235 million watched RTÉ’s coverage for the entire two and half hours, making it the most viewed sports event since the 1994 World Cup in America.

The audience share was 68 per cent.

The figures also exceeded the Late Late Show 50th anniversary average figure of 1.1 million, which was previously the most viewed programme in 2012.

GAVIN CUMMISKEY