Photo by Stephen McCarthy/SportsfileAn average of 1.37 million viewers watched as Ireland were mercilessly dumped out of World Cup 2026 contention by Czechia in a gut-wrenching penalty shootout. But the euphoria did not last long as Irish fans at home and abroad watched Czechia climb back late on and stomp all over our dreams across RTÉ2. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/SportsfileLast night’s match recorded an average of 1.37 million viewers on its television coverage, peaking at 1.6 million and accounting for 78pc of people watching TV and making it the most-watched TV show of the year so far. At 10:34pm – just as Czechia sealed penalty victory – the TV viewership reached 1.6 million. RTÉ calculates the average audience based on the average number of vieweers tuned in across the duration of the given show.

Source: Irish Independent March 27, 2026 16:44 UTC