The 2024 Olympics certainly captivated the nation with Ireland claiming a record haul of seven medal in France in the last few weeks.
Four golds and three bronze medals were procured by Team Ireland across a variety of different sports as new stars were born and familiar faces reasserted their supremacy.
The quadrennial event received significant coverage via RTÉ with fans up and down the country watching the major moments in huge numbers.
Kellie Harrington's gold medal win - her second at an Olympics - topped the pile with a staggering peak of 1.4 million viewers as per statistics released by RTÉ after the event.
6 August 2024; Kellie Harrington of Team Ireland celebrates with her gold medal after defeating Wenlu Yang of Team People's Republic of China in their women's 60kg final bout at Court Philippe-Chatrier in Roland Garros Stadium during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Rhasidat Adeleke's fourth place finish in the 400m final drew a peak of 926,000 viewers while the women's 4x400m relay team - who came so close to bronze - garnered a peak of 910,000 viewers.
There had been great interest in the quartet of Adeleke, Sharlene Mawdsley, Sophie Becker and Phil Healy after their silver medal exploits at the European Championships just weeks prior to the Olympics.
Daniel Wiffen's bronze medal win - to go with his gold - had a peak of 790,000 while 629,000 watched Rhys McClenaghan win gold and 621,000 cheered Mona McSharry to bronze from a TV set.
Meanwhile, 429,000 people watched Paul O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy retain their gold medals in the men's double lightweight sculls final on the national broadcaster.
RTE Olympics viewership figures throw up incredible statistic
The RTÉ viewership figures for Harrington's gold medal win are particularly staggering considering how they compare to other major sporting events in recent years.
For context, more people at peak viewership watched her second gold win than the average audience for Ireland's heartbreaking Rugby World Cup quarter-final defeat to New Zealand last September.
That game was viewed by 1.378 million on Virgin Media - the free-to-air network's highest ever TV audience.
Meanwhile, the 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Lionel Messi's Argentina and France - arguably the biggest fixture in global sport - drew a peak audience of 1.030 million via RTÉ.
Safe to say Harrington - who announced her plans to retire after her latest success - has captivated the nation.
