The Irish-language broadcaster scored a double ratings hit over the weekend thanks to live coverage of the RaboDirect Pro 12 match between Leinster and Munster and the 2012 Ladies’ Football Final at Croke Park between Cork and Kerry.

Television ratings over the weekend show that the Irish-language broadcaster was the second most popular channel in Ireland on Saturday night, beaten narrowly into second place by RTÉ One, while TG4 was the top Irish channel by a distance on Sunday afternoon, securing a viewing share twice the size of its nearest rivals.

Nielsen TAM ratings show that 550,000 people tuned into TG4’s live rugby coverage on Saturday with an average of 237,000 viewers watching the entire match.

Approximately half a million people also tuned into TG4 at some stage during the GAA finals on Sunday with an average audience of 190,000 watching the senior game.

TG4 sports editor, Rónán Ó Coisdealbha said of the results: “Our live coverage of Irish sport is one of the channel’s major achievements and this weekend was one of the most successful of all in terms of attracting audience to seeing some of our top sporting stars, men and women in action in our most famous stadia. We are proud to be able to show them at their best.”