Record-breaking TV ratings for Kerry and Dublin show GAA is only getting more popular

Sunday was a grand day of GAA action, wasn't it?

Finals are never easy to win, no matter what title they're deciding. This proved to be the case on Sunday as Kerry and Dublin battled it out for 75 frenzied minutes of footballing action. At the end of it all, Dublin's 35 game unbeaten run was ended. The trophy changed hands and will reside in Munster for the next 12 months. All over the pitch, Kerry players produced performances to be proud of from the marauding Mark Griffin at full-back, to the ridiculously talented David Moran in midfield, to the the sublime Paul Geaney at the edge of the square. Once again, Geaney illustrated why he is one of the most potent inside-forwards in the game at the minute. Croke Park was his pitch on Sunday, and he was deciding how the game went. On his terms. Speaking on the SportsJOE GAA Hour earlier this year, Geaney warned everyone that Kerry would beat the Dubs, and boy did he follow through on that promise.

"Last year we could've beaten them as well," Geaney said. "We had them on the ropes but we didn't finish them off. "I'd be looking at why didn't we finish them off, rather than we can't beat them. "We can beat them, we just have to figure out what it is to stop them. When we do that, we will beat them."

It seems that many others believed him when he said that, because a huge amount of people tuned in to watch the League Final on Sunday. TAM Ireland, the official measure for TV audience in Ireland, reports the following figures from TG4's live match coverage on Sunday.

• A total of 642,000 tuned in for Dublin and Kerry.
• The average audience who watched the game from start to finish was 354,000.

This makes it TG4’s most watched programme ever to date. The previous best was last year’s final featuring the same two teams on the day of the GAA’s 1916 commemoration. And it would've fitted right in with the big hitters of 2016, at 19th in the year's most-watched shows, ahead of Ireland and England in the rugby. TG4 Sports Editor Rónán Ó Coisdealbha thanked all those involved in Nemeton TV, the production team that produced yesterday’s coverage.

"We are all delighted with these all-time record viewing figures," he said. "It was a thrilling encounter and made for compelling viewing with the outcome in the balance until the very last kick. "TG4’s TV coverage of Gaelic games this week spanned a wide range, including pioneering worldwide and free to view web coverage of provincial final’s in the EirGrid Under 21 Football Championship."