COVID, Euro 2020 and Iced Coffee dominate Ireland's most Googled terms in 2021

Culture
08 Dec 21

Google's "Year in Search" has just been created, with some interesting findings...

According to Google's annual Year in Search statistics, released today, the "European Football Championship" – more widely known as Euro 2020 – was Ireland's most searched item this year.

Euro 2020 actually took place this year, having been postponed due to the pandemic in 2020, with an extraordinary tournament that was rich in drama – as well as superb football – delighting audiences around a continent that craved for some relief after harsh lockdowns.

The most notable incident of the tournament was the unfortunate – and at the time deeply shocking – cardiac arrest, suffered by Denmark's star player Christian Eriksen, during a match. That hugely dramatic moment happened under the full glare of the television cameras and with hundreds of millions watching. He was rushed to hospital and – in a feat of remarkable medical skill on the part of the medical team – his life was saved, and he has now fully recovered. In the context, it is no surprise that he emerges as the Most Searched Person in Ireland over the 12 months.

Another striking element of the tournament was England's powerful run to the final, after years of failure in major tournaments. Gareth Southgate's side went all the way to the final before being defeated on their home turf by Italy on penalties. The manner of their defeat – and the frequently racist nature of the reaction in some English circles – will certainly have contributed to the 'google-ability' of the term 'European Football Championship'.

The huge popularity of football is reflected in the fact that four of hte overall Top 10 Most Searched For items relate to football – The European Championships; Premier League; Christian Eriksen; and Champions League. As the legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly said: "Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that."

Which leads us to...

The Coronavirus, and its fall-out, appeared on several of Google's "Top 10 searches" across various categories, including the most asked question on the search engine: "How to register for the Covid-19 vaccine?"

Other COVID related searches included "How to do an Antigen test", "How to book a Covid-19 test", "How to apply for the Covid-19 payment", and "What is a close contact". Good questions all!

In lighter aspects of Google's results, "How to make an iced coffee" was the second most asked 'How To' question in Ireland for the whole of last year – a result that is doubtless down to the Summer heatwave experienced in Ireland during 2021. An unfortunate consequence of the heatwave may explain the sixth most searched 'How To': "How to get rid of fruit flies?"

If you have a good answer to that, please send to [email protected] – some of are still tryinng to deal with a rump of the fruit fly army that remains dug in and doggedly battling for survival.

Google's Top 10 Most Searched Terms from Irish users across a range fo categories are as follows...

OVERALL SEARCHES