The All-Ireland hurling and football finals saw the biggest spike in electricity demand in July, according to network operator EirGrid.
Power usage rose during the half-time and stoppages in play during both finals, it said. Other sporting events where Ireland featured but which did not have defined breaks and happened over a longer time period, such as the Olympics, did not have the same effect on the grid.
EirGrid reported a record amount of solar energy generation during the month at 118 gigawatt hours (GWh). Overall, renewables accounted for 28.7 per cent of all electricity generated in July.
Wind farms accounted for just more than a fifth of all power produced at 21.5 per cent with 4.5 per cent coming from solar farms and 2.7 per cent from other sources such as hydropower and biomass.
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Some 44.6 per cent of of electricity used in July was generated from gas, of which just under half (20 per cent) was imported. Coal fuelled 5.5 per cent of generated power with 1 per cent coming from other sources.
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